2 minute read • Mater Cars For Cancer, Patient Stories, Car Lottery, Mater Lotteries, Research, Car News, Cars For Cancer
Paula's Story
For 36-year-old Paula Rizqallah, life was led at a million miles an hour. All that changed the day she was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer.
A mum of three, wife, business owner, and primary breadwinner, Paula had just one speed setting: “Go, go, go!” As she puts it, “I was a bit of a workaholic.” Christmas Day 2022 proved to be a very important one. It was then she noticed a lump on her right breast.
“I wasn’t checking, I just stumbled across a lump that felt like a marble,” Paula said.
Paula received a devastating diagnosis of aggressive breast cancer and learned she carried the BRCA1 gene, which carries a 70% chance of this occurrence. The good news was, thanks to Paula’s intuition, her cancer was captured early stage.
She underwent a gruelling chemotherapy program and a double mastectomy surgery, bravely sharing the good, bad, and ugly of her journey with her community of supporters on social media.
An intelligent and independent woman, Paula was also forced to reassess her work-life balance. To slow down. To accept help. To embrace vulnerability.
“The way I looked at it was I couldn’t control that I had cancer, but I could control how I reacted to it, how it was going to impact my life,” Paula said.
“I think the hardest part for me is thinking about my seven-year-old daughter. As a parent, you try and protect your kids from everything, and this is something that I can’t do. I’m putting my faith in the research and medical science.”
By purchasing Cars for Cancer tickets, you are helping to fuel vital cancer research, giving patients like Paula the hope of a brighter future. Thank you.
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