LIFE’S fragility was crystal clear to Bernice Steele on her first Mother’s Day 40 years ago. “I didn’t know if I’d live or die,” she said, recalling hospitalisation for the removal of a malignant melanoma. “Back in those days, there wasn’t the awareness there is today (about skin cancer),” Bernice said. “Our son was only weeks old when I went ... Read More »
“MIRACULOUS” is one word that could describe Paul Kraus’ life from the very beginning when he survived the Holocaust to later beating the deadly cancer mesothelioma. And the 73-year-old retiree counts each day as a blessing. His life’s been one of many remarkable twists and turns – born of a Jewish woman in a Nazi labour camp, baptised a Catholic ... Read More »
WHEN the community of Our Lady of the Rosary, Kenmore, heard that one of the youngest members of its school family had been diagnosed with cancer, it decided to stand up and act. It was late last year that Mitchell, a Year 3 student at OLR, was diagnosed with lymphoma. Mitchell’s family wrote in a letter, “Having our seven-year old ... Read More »
WHEN mum Nicole Cooper was diagnosed with incurable, stage-four bowel cancer last year, her oncologist prescribed her two things – chemotherapy and exercise. Old-school medical advice would have been to rest and avoid activity while chemo treatment was undertaken – but not any more. In between bouts of chemotherapy and surgery, the 33-year-old started lengthy runs and gym sessions using ... Read More »
PETER Hagan was supposed to die in the Eastertide of 1968, after doctors discovered a cancerous tumour on the base of his bladder. It was April 11, Holy Thursday in 1968, when Peter was flown from Sydney to Melbourne and driven by ambulance to the Royal Children’s Hospital to undergo a repair for a bladder complication. Six days later his ... Read More »
QUEENSLAND researchers will soon start a major clinical trial to find out the benefits of medicinal cannabis for cancer patients receiving palliative care. “We are delighted to be one of nineteen research projects funded in this round right across Australia,” team leader from Mater Research in Brisbane Professor Janet Hardy said. Medicinal cannabis is now legal in Queensland, yet Professor ... Read More »
LIKE most children at Christmas, Sophia Bennett has the biggest smile on her face but not from what’s hiding under the tree. The five-year-old from Augustine Heights is overjoyed knowing that a child who has lost their hair to a medical condition could receive her hair as a Christmas present. Sophia made her first trip to the hairdresser on December ... Read More »
JIM McKenna always wanted to fly. He put flying on his bucket list soon after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last June. “He loved any type of machine … cars, trains and planes,” Jim’s wife Patricia said. The father of 11 children, including former Australian rugby league player Chris McKenna, jumped on two planes just weeks before his peaceful death ... Read More »
EVERYTHING Roberta McShane owned was hot pink, even her car. On April 4 last year, the Catholic school teacher asked her mum, Dot McShane, to bring the car to the hospital for one last spin around the block. “That was the first time she said to me, ‘It’s time for me to go mum but I want to get the ... Read More »
The Catholic Leader Keeping Faith with You
