A young Australian woman who battled and defeated a rare and aggressive cancer three years ago is once again fighting for life after her worst fears came true.
Gold Coast woman Tayla Firkin, 25, discovered last Friday she has less than a 10 per cent chance of surviving the next 18 months.
A relapse of Ewing’s sarcoma – a rare and aggressive bone cancer – has spread from her pelvis to her spine, but that has not diminished Ms Firkin’s desire to live her best life.
In 2021, what she thought was just shoulder pain turned out to be stage four cancer, with fourteen tumors spread across her body.
Over the next eleven months, she received intensive chemotherapy and appeared to be cancer-free.
“I was really lucky that I had no evidence of illness for two years,” Ms Firkin said 7News.
In March, her radiologist found what looked like Ewing’s sarcoma, and since then she has been dealing with a whirlwind of medical appointments.
“It’s been seven months since I’ve been full-time with doctors, blood tests, scans and it’s basically been back and forth trying to figure out what this place is,” she said.
Tayla Firkin (pictured with her brother Jess) has less than a 10 percent chance of surviving the next 18 months
On Friday she received the devastating news that the cancer had returned and was growing rapidly.
The original tumor in her pelvis grew within weeks.
“It’s grown quite quickly,” she said, with the original tumor in her pelvis growing 5cm within weeks. “It’s very scary.”
Within days of confirming that the cancer had returned, her older brother Jess had a cancer GoFundMe for his beloved sister, who has already raised more than $95,000.
Mr Firkin said that when Tayla recovered from her previous bout of cancer, she had the world at her feet.
She had her favorite job that she loved doing, and so many friends.
“I think she was really starting to figure out who she was,” he wrote.
Now she must undergo immediate treatment to try to stop the cancer from spreading, but her body cannot tolerate the same treatment this time due to the toxicity.
The only option is to find a trial chemotherapy, which is not government funded and could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“With every day that passes, the stakes get higher. Her life is now in danger and we need all the help we can get to give her the best chance of surviving this battle,” Mr Firkin said.
Tayla (photo middle) is very grateful for the support she receives from family and friends
She received intensive chemotherapy for 11 months and appeared to be cancer-free, but the cancer returned
Mrs Firkin (pictured right) said she will fight as hard as she can to beat cancer for a second time ‘Because I really like life and I really love everyone’
“It’s very scary when you have a prognosis of another year and a half and less than a 10 percent chance of achieving it, but the support everyone is receiving through the GoFundMe that my brother has put together is overwhelmingly wonderful,” said Ms. Firkin.
“I can’t thank people enough.”
Mr Firkin said people want to help because they can see themselves in his sister.
“She’s such an innocent person. She lights up the room when she walks in,” he said.
Tayla is very grateful for the support she receives from family and friends.
“They’re the best in the world,” she said.
‘I hope that anyone who has had a cancer diagnosis or cancer relapse, or has seen a family member go through this, will receive the same support I have from them.
“It’s hard to go through it a second time and I wish I could just give everyone back all the love they gave me.”
Although she is “petrified,” her support network is “like a little blanket of love that I don’t know what I would do without.”
She will fight as hard as she can to beat the cancer for the second time.
“I really love life and I really love everyone,” Tayla said.
“They really make me want to be here and try because I’m still here, so I’ll try to make the best of it while I can.”