Melbourne News Presenter, and Journalist, Candice Wyatt is taking on the biggest personal challenge of her life as she embarks on trekking across the world’s highest mountain range, Nepal, in honour of her late mother Karyn who passed of brain cancer at the early age of 56.
Initially, Candice’s mum was suspected of having a virus that was going around their local town of Warrnambool and was prescribed antibiotics, however further scans presented two small tumours the size of your small fingernail at the right side of Karyn’s brain behind her ear. The only symptom that had presented was vertigo.
Karyn was flown to Melbourne’s St Vincent’s hospital for emergency surgery with the duration of the operation exceeding 7 hours. Karyn woke up paralysed on her left side and although told this was most likely temporary, she was never able to lift her left arm or walk again and remained with paralysis on her left side.
Candice says, “my earliest memories were of me sitting on the floor whilst mum instructed aerobics classes. Mum was a 5’ 2” ball of muscle, who had trekked Kokoda twice.”
“Mum loved the idea of going to Nepal, but that never happened. Since mum’s passing, I’ve been an ambassador for Cure Brain Cancer. One day whilst sitting at my desk an email popped up from them saying they were going to trek to Nepal and I was like I have to do this don’t I”.
Candice’s mum Karyn was diagnosed with GMB stage 4. GMB is known as glioblastoma multiforme and is an extremely aggressive and infiltrative cancer that can spread to other parts of the brain quickly. The median survival time for GMB4 is around 10 to 12 months from diagnosis. Surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and aggressive drugs are currently used to prolong life expectancy.
Candice is currently undertaking a strict health and exercise regime that includes altitude training. The Trek will be taken across seven days with Candice leaving on February 29th. Her target is to bank $20K for Cure Brain Cancer but I’m hoping we can all exceed her expectations in honour of both Candice and her belated mother.
By Melinda Sullivan
Photographer Sam Tabone
To donate http://www.curebraincancer.org.au/candice
Dinner auction:
https://app.galabid.com/candice/items
Limited edition candles:
https://soyonthehill.bigcartel.com/
