Support does not need to be in your city: Meet @isadora2021

TERESA: What brought you to Mayo Clinic Connect?

@isadora2021: I am Australian. When I was diagnosed with stage 4 appendix cancer (which my childhood idol Audrey Hepburn died of), I entered a whole new world. A world I had some second-hand experience of due to losing other family members to cancer, especially my mother. 

My mother passed away within 30 days of diagnosis at age 69 at the peak of her life from small-cell lung cancer. She bravely undertook radiation, which restored her cognitive abilities before her medical team said, “no more”. It was traumatic.

When I was diagnosed with appendix cancer at 58 years old, I started googling and found Mayo Clinic as a credible, reputable, science-based resource for my rare cancer. The information on average life expectancy, though, was truly awful. So, despite being a lawyer and a facts-first person, I switched totally off. I decided to bury my head in the sand and let the dice roll. I could only control a few things, like what went into my mouth, how much exercise I did, how much sleep I got, and how stressed I was. Being on private insurance, I could also and did carefully choose a wonderful medical team. 

As a partner in an international US/UK law firm, I was used to my clients entrusting me with responsibility for their matters. So, I was comfortable doing the same. I put my trust in my Australian medical team, but with great communication within the boundaries I set. I went through a year of massive treatment (from initial debulking surgery to fortnightly Folfiri and Avastin with the 46-hour take-home pump to HIPEC and cytoreductive surgery). 

It was when coming out the other side in remission that I really, really needed help. I sought help dealing with being a survivor, but with an incurable disease that, at some stage, would come back. It’s a disease I had experienced and truly had no wish to fight again, knowing what that would entail. That’s when my googling of Mayo Clinic led me to this forum. I needed help to live fully under a cloud with the knowledge I had gained. Before, ignorance was bliss. Now, I was no longer ignorant.

TERESA: What motivates you to take part in Mayo Clinic Connect?

@isadora2021: Originally, I participated in Mayo Clinic Connect to help me—by leaning on others — to live a good life, no matter how short it might be. But now, from my own experience, I am also able to support and offer hope to others whenever I can. 

Personally, I think keeping hope is crucial. It may not prevail, but it sure gives you an inside lane. I am living proof of that. I made peace with dying, which helped lift a load. I decided I would do my very best to live each day as it comes. I am now almost 5 years post-diagnosis and 4 years since remission. I take one day at a time. I’m loving my life and want to share that hope.

TERESA: What about Mayo Clinic Connect makes you feel comfortable sharing and being open with the community?

@isadora2021: I joined other online support groups before Mayo Clinic Connect. I hardly visit them anymore. The main reason being I don’t want to read about non-evidence-based claims. Without proper scientific research, these claims are, in my view, a red herring in my healing.

I also like the culture of Mayo ClinicConnect. People are not keyboard warriors, being deliberately nasty and trying to bring people down. Now and again, a nasty post pops up, but the moderators gently but firmly sort them out. That’s not to say I disagree with people putting different perspectives out there. I love that array of views. But it’s how it’s done. I truly feel safe logging into Mayo Clinic Connect

TERESA: What support groups do you participate in?

@isadora2021: I primarily take part in the Cancer, Cancer: Managing Symptoms, and Colorectal Cancer support groups. I sometimes pop into other interest areas like Aging Well, Digestive Health and more.

TERESA: Tell us about your favorite pastime or activity.

@isadora2021: Having rare stage 4 appendix cancer involved staring into the abyss with potentially less than 2 years to live and putting up with full-on treatment to make those 2 years, and hopefully more. I managed to work full-time through my year of treatment, mainly from home.

My work was vital to my recovery. My initial period of treatment was during the COVID lockdowns in Western Australia. I was fortunate that my job could be done largely from home, including after the lockdown ended and while my immune system recovered. I had such a wonderful work team behind me.

I surprised myself by taking an early stress-free retirement in June 2023 from a demanding job I loved. Yet I haven’t regretted one second of retirement. I love walking my two labradoodle dogs (now 18 months old), taking them to the dog park, or swimming in the river or at the beach. I also appreciate spending time (usually breakfast) with family and friends, gardening with the pups “helping”, reading, doing yoga and pilates, etc. There’s so much to do and increasingly so as my pups get older and more independent. It’s a lovely mix. These are all sorts of things I never had time to do when I was working – leaving the house in the dark and getting back in the dark.

TERESA: Do you have a favorite quote, life motto or personal mantra?

@isadora2021: When I was made a partner, my job included moving on from some major clients to turn the ship around and reinvent the business in my department. It was a truly massive undertaking. My boss taught me how to eat an elephant, one mouthful at a time. I’ve used that saying ever since for all sorts of undertakings! Don’t look at the elephant, just focus on the mouthful. And the next. It worked then and it helped me during my cancer treatment.

TERESA: What do you appreciate the most in your friends?

@isadora2021: My close friends have truly been family during this incredible journey. I would not have been able to do this without them. 

My best friend lives in South Africa, and we’ve been close since we were 12. She has been one of my main pillars of support. She lives with lupus and has been a font of information on eating well and destressing. Another friend from Tennessee, whom I met many years ago in Munich while traveling, had lost his mother to breast cancer. 

Support does not need to be in your city. I have many other wonderful friends in my city who I see each week, but others not as often. It doesn’t matter. My “A team” deserves a medal. I love them all.

TERESA: Puppies or kittens?

@isadora2021: As kids, we grew up with both. My mother bred her two seal-point Siamese queens with home-based litters. If we had our way, we would have kept all the kittens! I took one queen when she was no longer fitting in. Isadora was her name, which I use as my Connect username. I loved her to bits. I’d love to have another Isadora one day.

I have two Labradoodle pups named Benjamin and Lulu, after our childhood Labradors. Such mischievous, lovable dogs. We all love going to the dog park to meet other dog pals!

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