Kayla Newland was just 23 when she visited a doctor for pain around her vulva last November.
It was months before doctors realised that her pain was a symptom of a cancer that only 420 Australian women are diagnosed with every year.
“I was just going about life and everything kind of got turned upside down for us,” she told the NCA NewsWire.
This week, in particular, has been a whirlwind.
The now 24-year-old is set to walk down the aisle on Saturday in a small ceremony in her grandad’s backyard.
It will just be family and the bridal party at the intimate occasion as she weds her partner of five years, Nic Barville.
“We thought it would be good to get married before my hair falls out and all that fun stuff,” she said.
It’s certainly not how they imagined their big day, but Ms Newland said a big wedding just wasn’t a priority anymore after her diagnosis.
Nausea from the latest round of chemotherapy – which she started this week – has been knocking her around for a few days.
Her cancer is now stage 3 and considered treatment non-curative, which means it is not behaving like a typical vulvar cancer should. It has started to spread to her lungs and hips.
The doctors at King Edward Memorial Hospital are using a treatment program used more commonly to treat cervical cancer. As vulvar cancer is so rare and under-researched, they can only guess at how Ms Newland will respond.
The rarity of her cancer is also why it took doctors so long to diagnose her.
“They pretty much ruled out everything else before we came around to cancer as an option because they thought all of those things make more sense than for it to be cancer,” Ms Newland said.
Her GP prescribed her with a steroid cream, then a gynaecologist prescribed antibiotics.
What started out as a dull pain in November, steadily progressed to a more stabbing persistent pain in her vulva.
“I felt like something was wrong,” Ms Newland said.
It wasn’t until January when the pain became unbearable and her family took her to the emergency department that a biopsy revealed the life-changing news.
Vulvar cancer is not common – each year in Australia, only around 420 women are diagnosed with vulvar cancer, according to the Cancer Council.
It most commonly affects women who have experienced menopause, but in recent years rates of vulvar cancer in women under 60 have increased.
In February, Ms Newland underwent major surgery to remove the cancer.
Doctors discovered that the cancer had spread through her lymph nodes and so the decision to undertake pelvic radiation was made.
“My ovaries were in the firing line,” Ms Newland said.
She and Mr Barville then had to make a decision that most people their age wouldn’t normally consider – whether they wanted children.
“It was very confronting because it’s not kind of a conversation that you have in depth at this age,” Ms Newland said.
“Then all of a sudden you have to make decisions around how many eggs is an acceptable number for us to be comfortable with? Do we want to freeze eggs? Do we want to freeze embryos?”
Luckily, egg retrieval that is deemed medically necessary is covered by Medicare.
The cost of chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatment on the other hand is not yet covered by Medicare due to the rare nature of vulvar cancer.
A Newland family friend has set up a GoFundMe to raise money to help cover the cost of Ms Newland’s medical bills. Already more than $57,000 has been raised.
The words of support shared on the fundraising page show how truly beloved she is.
“You don’t meet many 24 year olds as kind, caring, thoughtful and giving as Kayla,” Jackie Norman wrote on Facebook,
“Kayla has always helped to raise funds for charity as long as we’ve known her, such a beautiful caring soul,” Billie Gleadow said.
“She is one of the most loving, caring, kind-hearted people I know who would do anything to help others,” Sophie Binning said.
At just 24, Ms Newland appears unwaveringly calm and optimistic in the face of a difficult battle ahead.
September is Gynaecologic Cancer Awareness Month and she is hoping that her story can encourage young women to get help if they are in pain.
“I would say that you know your body best so don't take no for an answer,” she said.
“Go and get it checked because even if it’s nothing, at least you have peace of mind that you got it checked.
“Even if you’re young, you’re not bulletproof unfortunately.”
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