A young Aussie woman who fought and beat a rare and aggressive cancer three years ago is fighting for life again after her worst fears were realised.
Gold Coast woman Tayla Firkin, 25, found out last Friday that she has a less than 10 per cent chance of making it through 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 dimmed Ms Firkin’s desire to live the best life she can.
In 2021, what she thought was just a shoulder pain turned out to be stage four cancer, with 14 tumours spread throughout her body.
Over the next, 11 months, she had intensive chemotherapy and seemed to be cancer-free.
‘I was really lucky that for two years I didn’t have any evidence of disease,’ Ms Firkin told 7News.
In March, her radiologist found something that looked like Ewing’s Sarcoma and has faced a whirlwind of medical appointments ever since.
‘It’s been seven months where my full-time job is doctors, blood tests, scans and it’s basically been back and forth trying to figure out what this spot is,’ she said.
Tayla Firkin (pictured with her brother Jess) has a less than 10 per cent chance of making it through the next 18 months
On Friday, she got the devastating news that the cancer had come back and is growing fast.
The original tumour in her pelvis grown within weeks.
‘It’s grown pretty rapidly,’ she said, with the original tumour in her pelvis growing 5cm within weeks. ‘It’s very scary.’
Within days of the confirmation that the cancer had returned, her older brother Jess had set up a GoFundMe for his beloved sister, which has already raised more than $95,000.
Mr Firkin said when she recovered from her previous bout of cancer, Tayla had the world at her feet.
She had her favourite job that she loved going into, and so many friends.
‘I think she was really starting to find out who she was,’ he wrote.
Now she has to get treatment immediately to try to stop the cancer spreading further, but her body cannot endure 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 each passing day, the stakes grow higher. Her life is now in jeopardy, and we need all the help we can get to give her the best chance to survive this battle,’ Mr Firkin said.
Tayla (pictured centre) is very grateful for the support she is getting from family and friends
Over 11 months, she had intensive chemotherapy and seemed to be cancer-free, but the cancer has come back
Ms Firkin (pictured right) said she will fight as hard as she can to overcome cancer a second time ‘Because I really like life and I really love everyone’
‘It’s very daunting when you’ve got a prognosis of a year-and-a-half left and less than 10 per cent chance of making that, but the support everyone’s given through the GoFundMe my brother’s put together is overwhelmingly beautiful,’ Ms Firkin said.
‘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 is getting from family and friends.
‘They’re the best thing in the world,’ she said.
‘I hope anyone who’s gone through a cancer diagnosis or a cancer relapse or seen a family member go through this would have the same support that I have from them.
‘It’s a hard thing to go through a second time and I wish I could just give everyone back all the love they’ve given to me.’
Though she is ‘petrified’ her support network ‘is kind of like a little blanket of love that I don’t know what I’d do without’.
She will fight as hard as she can to overcome cancer a second time.
‘I really like life and I really love everyone,’ Tayla said.
‘They really make me want to be here and try because I am still here, so I’ll try to make the most of it while I can.’
