Rebuilt - After Her

03/09/2026

Some days after cancer, I wake up with the energy equivalent of a phone on 2%.

You know how you treat your phone when the battery is almost dead?

Lower the brightness
Close the apps
Stop doing anything unnecessary
Work out what absolutely has to last until you can plug it in

Cancer-related fatigue can feel a lot like that

Except nobody can see the little battery percentage hovering above my head

They can’t see what I started the day with

Or what the school run, groceries, appointments, work, dinner & brain fog have already taken from it

From the outside, I can still look completely charged

I’m dressed, talking, smiling, getting things done

But inside, I might already be deciding what can wait until tomorrow because today’s battery simply won’t stretch that far.

And yes… I have an emergency power bank. 😂

Classic Coke!

Not Zero, not sugar free. The original full-sugar version.

It doesn’t fix the fatigue. It’s just the sugar hit I reach for when the battery is flashing red & there are still things that need doing

The difference is that a phone can be plugged in & recharged.

A good night’s sleep doesn’t always do the same thing for a body living with the lasting effects of cancer treatment & ongoing medication.

Some days I start at 80%

Some days I wake up already searching for the charger

And I’m slowly learning that protecting the little energy I have isn’t laziness.

It’s energy management

It’s how I keep enough charge for the people & moments that matter most

31/08/2026

Sometimes rebuilding looks like starting again quietly.

RAH has been a little quieter than usual lately.

Not because I ran out of things to say.

Sometimes life gets full, energy gets redirected, and the things that matter are still sitting there waiting when you come back to them.

So this is me stepping back into this little corner again.

Still rebuilding.
Still learning.
Still finding words for the parts of life after cancer that don’t always get talked about.

And very ready for what comes next. x

What are you rebuilding at the moment — big or small?

20/08/2026

The hardest part wasn’t asking for help.

It was learning how many people wouldn’t show up after I did

People often say:

“Let me know if you need anything.” And sometimes they genuinely mean it.

But when you’re living through cancer, asking can already feel enormous.

You may be exhausted, frightened, in pain or struggling to think clearly.

You may not even know what you need until the moment you can no longer manage it alone.

Then you finally ask.

And the message goes unanswered

The promised meal doesn’t arrive

The lift falls through

The person who said, “Anytime,” suddenly has a reason they can’t

Once or twice, you understand - Life happens

But after enough disappointment, asking can begin to feel harder than simply struggling through alone.

Not because you’re too proud or want to be seen as strong.

And not because you don’t need support.

Sometimes you stop asking because you can’t carry the original problem & the disappointment of being let down as well.

So when someone with cancer says, “I’m fine,” it may not mean they don’t need anything.

It may mean they’ve learned that vague offers don’t always become real help.

Instead of saying, “Let me know if you need anything,” try something specific:

“I’m dropping dinner over on Tuesday. Is 5.30 okay?”

“I can do the school run on Thursday.”

“I’m going to the supermarket. Send me five things you need.”

“I’m free for an hour tomorrow. What can I take off your list?”

Sometimes the most helpful thing isn’t offering more.

It’s choosing something practical & following through. 💚

16/08/2026

Rebuilding isn’t always deep, serious or inspirational

Sometimes it looks like standing in front of a warped mirror at GOMA with your daughter & laughing at how ridiculous you both look. 😂

Cancer has taken up a lot of space in our family’s story

Appointments, treatment, worry, recovery, adjusting, rebuilding

But it doesn’t get to take every moment

Some moments can simply be silly

Not a lesson or brave face

No meaningful cancer quote

Just Reece & I laughing at our giant teeth & stretched faces like a pair of children.

Honestly, these are the moments I want more of

The ordinary, ridiculous, completely unnecessary ones that remind me life isn’t only about what we’ve survived.

Highly recommend finding a mirror that makes your problems look smaller & your teeth look enormous. 😂

Sometimes rebuilding a life means remembering to enjoy it too 💚

09/08/2026

These photos are years apart.

Same smile. Same woman. But cancer changed far more than what you can see

Cancer changes more than your body

Sometimes it changes your work

Your confidence, energy, friendships.....
Your family’s rhythm, your sense of who you are &

Your whole outlook on life

And after all of that, there’s often a quieter part nobody talks about as much:

the rebuilding

Not the big inspirational version

The real one

Rebuilding trust in your body, routines, confidence....

Rebuilding physical strength, plans around energy that can change without warning

Rebuilding a life that feels like yours again

For me, part of that has been rebuilding my self-confidence and slowly learning to step outside the comfort zone I created after cancer

Some parts are coming back slower than others ,some parts are being built differently

And some parts of the woman I was before cancer no longer fit the woman I am now

So maybe rebuilding isn’t always about getting back to who you were..

Maybe it’s learning who you are now? 💚

06/08/2026

My phone just explained life after cancer.

At the top of the screen, it says my phone is charged to 91%.

That sounds pretty good.

But further down, there’s another number:

Maximum Capacity: 75%.

Its battery health is “significantly degraded.”

So even when this phone says it’s fully charged, it can no longer hold the same amount of energy it did when it was new.

And honestly… THAT’S ME.

Because this is what living with the lasting effects of cancer treatment can feel like.

I can have a good night’s sleep. Wake up feeling rested. Look well.

Get dressed, smile and start the day appearing completely charged.

But my maximum capacity has changed.

My version of 100% today may not hold what it did before surgery, chemotherapy and ongoing medication.

That doesn’t mean I’m not trying hard enough.

It doesn’t mean I just need another early night, a better routine or someone telling me to slow down.

And unfortunately, unlike my phone, I can’t pop into the Apple Store and ask them to replace my battery.

So I’m learning to live with the capacity I have now.

To notice what drains it faster & stop running unnecessary things in the background.

To use my energy where it matters most & stop measuring today’s capacity against the woman I was before cancer

Because sometimes, you can look fully charged from the outside while carrying a battery that no longer holds what it once did

Fully charged doesn’t always mean full capacity

01/08/2026

Some relationships take years to show you what they’re made of. Cancer can do it in one appointment.

Earlier this week, I heard a conversation on B105 asking whether anything had fast-tracked people’s relationships.

It made me wonder about the couples whose timelines changed after a cancer diagnosis.

Did you move in sooner? Bring a wedding forward? Say “I love you” earlier than planned?

Or was there one moment during treatment when you realised this person wasn’t going anywhere?

Cancer can put enormous pressure on relationships, but today I’d love to hear about the people who stepped closer.

Did cancer fast-track your relationship, and what did that look like for you?

P.S. While I was taking this photo, B105 played Wrecking Ball followed by Flowers. Apparently Miley wanted both sides of the relationship conversation represented. 😂

31/07/2026

Awareness gives families the chance to act.
Please take a moment for this. 🧬💚

30/07/2026

You saw what I managed
You didn’t see what it cost me

Just because I did it doesn’t mean it was easy.
And it definitely doesn’t mean it didn’t cost me.

Sometimes people see the part I managed.

The school run.
The appointment.
The family outing.
The work task.
Dinner getting made.
Me showing up looking okay.

And from the outside, it can look like I’m coping.

Like I handled it.
Like I’m back to normal.
Like if I managed that, then I must be doing fine.

But what often goes unseen is what it cost me to do it.

The rest I needed beforehand.
The pain I pushed through.
The mental effort it took to stay organised.
The things I postponed.
The jobs I left undone.
The recovery time that followed.

Sometimes being able to do one thing means something else doesn’t get done.

The washing stays unfolded.
The dishes wait on the bench.
The messages go unanswered.
The house slips a little.
My body pays for it later.

So yes, sometimes I can do the thing.

But being able to do it doesn’t mean it came easily, and it doesn’t mean there wasn’t a cost attached.

A lot of life after cancer looks like constantly choosing what gets my energy and what has to wait.

And sometimes what looks like coping is really just careful trading. 💚

28/07/2026

This morning, I discovered something I should probably have known for the past 4 years.

On March 2022, I underwent the radical hysterectomy that helped save my life & enabled me to get home to my children.

My surgeon was Dr. Andreas Obermair one of Australia’s leading gynaecological oncologists.

I was treated through the public health system. I didn’t research Australia’s leading specialists or personally choose my surgeon. At the time, I was simply trying to survive what was happening to me.

Today, I discovered just how fortunate I was.

Professor Obermair hasn’t only spent decades operating on women with gynaecological cancers. He has helped pioneer kinder, less invasive surgical treatments, led groundbreaking clinical trials, advanced research into earlier detection. He also founded the Cherish Women's Cancer Foundation to support research that could change & save women’s lives.

And these are only the contributions I happened to uncover today.

Somehow, in the middle of an overwhelmed public health system, this extraordinary man became my surgeon.

His skill, knowledge & dedication helped give me something no medical record could ever adequately describe:

The chance to wake up
The chance to recover
The chance to come home
The chance to continue being Mum to my children

For him, March 16, 2022 may have been another day spent doing the work he has dedicated his life to.

For my family & me, it was the day his work helped give us more time together.

I knew I was grateful

Until today, I don’t think I truly understood just how lucky I was.

Professor Obermair, if this post happens to reach you: THANK YOU

Thank you for the work you have done, the research you continue to champion & the countless women & families whose futures have been changed because you chose this life’s work.

One of those women is me. 💚

Join Professor Andreas Obermair as he takes on the trek of a lifetime, the Cherish Patagonia Challenge 2027.

Andreas has proudly put up his fundraising poster in his practice, inspiring others to step forward and help transform the future for women and girls facing gynaecological cancer.

Take the challenge with him: https://inspiredadventures.com.au/event/cherish-patagonia-2027/

Dr. Andreas Obermair