\u201cI just thought nothing of it, being as young as I was at that time,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Huntly woman Rose Thompson has stage 4 breast cancer. It is terminal but treatments can help her live longer. <\/p>\n
A biopsy confirmed stage 1 breast cancer and she was \u201cfast-tracked\u201d for chemotherapy while living in Australia\u2019s Gold Coast. <\/p>\n
She also had a double mastectomy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey hit me with everything but the kitchen sink,\u201d Thompson said.<\/p>\n
After that, she underwent elective surgery to get breast implants and she was in remission.<\/p>\n
She returned home to New Zealand to visit her family when the Covid-19 pandemic hit and the borders closed.<\/p>\n
It was here in 2020 that she realised her cancer was growing back in her lymph nodes under her left arm beside the implant.<\/p>\n
Doctors confirmed she had stage 1 breast cancer again.<\/p>\n
Thompson said she couldn\u2019t handle it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want to fight the cancer again; I was willing to give up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Her former partner bought her a dog, an American Bully named Tama Nui (M\u0101ori for big boy), to help keep her going. <\/p>\n
\u201cI had to stay during the lockdown and when I went back to Australia, they removed [the implant] and I received radiation.\u201d <\/p>\n
She went into remission for the second time. <\/p>\n
Round 3 <\/p>\n
Thompson moved back to New Zealand in 2024 after hearing her dad\u2019s health was declining. <\/p>\n
But while his health improved, Thompson\u2019s worsened. <\/p>\n
However, she lived life as usual, working as a carer at Huntly\u2019s Kimihia Home & Hospital for two years before taking on an activities co-ordinator role there. <\/p>\n
\u201cI just thought everything was okay,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In June this year, things took a turn.<\/p>\n
She was admitted to Waikato Hospital with \u201cprofound\u201d anaemia and doctors requested her Australian medical records after noticing lesions on her head, neck and arms.<\/p>\n
Further testing confirmed breast cancer again but this time it was stage 4, metastatic and had spread to more areas, including her spine and liver. <\/p>\n
Thompson thought the worst.<\/p>\n
\u201cI convinced myself that I was going to lose all my hair again, and I was going to be hooked up to a machine [again] once a week,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut [I\u2019ve] come to learn that it\u2019s gone past them trying to get rid of the tumours. They just need to keep it at bay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Huntly woman Rose Thompson in 2025 before she found out she had breast cancer again and this time terminal. <\/p>\n
Resilience<\/p>\n
After her third diagnosis, she left her job. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat was quite sad … that\u2019s how I identify myself a lot of the time, through my work.\u201d<\/p>\n
But she remains optimistic. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s disheartening … I have my bad days and my good days. I\u2019ve just got to suck it up and be hopeful.<\/p>\n
\u201cIncome is obviously a major factor now that I\u2019ve had to try and adjust … but that\u2019s part of my resilience. There\u2019s nothing more I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n