By Oliver Lees
After 24 weeks of chemotherapy, Rachell Cullen has committed to a five-day trek in the Top End to raise money for the treatment centre that saved her life.
Ms Cullen, now a mother of two, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called choriocarcinoma in January, 2017, just nine weeks after her first child was born.
After a brief stint at the Royal Women’s Hospital, she was transferred to the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre for specialised treatment.
She said the care she received, which ultimately cured her cancer, inspired her to give back and gave her an entirely new perspective on life.
“When you’re really sick and stuck in a hospital and can’t even get out of bed, it’s really hard to see how life is ever going to be better,” she said.
“I think anyone who works in a hospital is a special breed of person, it can be a dim environment, but the nurses always made a point of coming in and brightening my day.
“Now I teach my kids to play in the mud, to pick flowers, to get out of their comfort zone and live in the moment.”
Testing her new lease on life, Ms Cullen and her friend Kathryn McMahon will spend five days in August trekking the Larapinta Trail, which runs along the Western MacDonnell Ranges near Alice Springs.
“[Kathryn] was one of my biggest supporters through my sickness, we both decided it would be an amazing achievement,” Ms Cullen said,
“I just want to finish it. I want to get to the last day to say I did it.”
Details: petermac-larapinta-2021.raisely.com/rachel-cullen
