When Natalie Wall was asked to be an ambassador for Relay for Life in Wollongong this year she was delighted because she saw it as a chance to raise awareness about thyroid cancer.
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Ms Wall has participated in the annual relay with her family before and said it was really nice to be asked to be ambassador.
“I had thyroid cancer 20 years ago and a recurrence a couple of years ago,” she said.
“I am very passionate about ensuring people understand about some of the rarer cancers. That is why I feel really honoured to be an ambassador.”
Ms Wall said there was a lot of information about some cancers but not others.
And is keen to make sure more people know about thyroid cancer and how to detect it.
“A lot of people don’t even know where the thyroid is,’’ she said.
“There are a lot of misconceptions about it as well. A way of checking whether or not you have thyroid cancer is very simple. Look for any lumps in the front of your neck. That is the common way thyroid cancer is found.”
Ms Wall said she wanted people to know about regularly checking their neck for lumps just as they checked their skin for skin cancer.
“With relay it is just that opportunity for all of us to get together as a community of survivors and carers to all support each other and have a chat about our journeys,” she said.
Ms Wall was part of the Butterfly Warriors team for the 2016 relay.
“I like to do things for the Cancer Council,” she said.
“I always buy daffodils on Daffodil Day and I try and help out on a stall on Pink Ribbon Day. But there is no Thyroid Cancer Day.”