Mikaila Brisbane was visibly emotional when she saw the huge crowd that had gathered in Outrigger Place, Shell Cove on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
”I feel very thankful. I just can't believe how incredible our community is. This is going to change our family’s life,” the 23-year-old said.
She was talking about the 150 women who were attending the third annual Shell Cove Wine Tour.
Funds raised from this year’s event on October 27 will support Mrs Brisbane and her family.
The Flinders mother of two has alveolar soft part sarcoma.
“It’s a very rare cancer,” Mrs Brisbane said.
“Sarcomas are very rare in themselves but my type of sarcoma is the rarest form. Only about 0.01 per cent of people get it... so I haven’t met many with it.”
The mother of Indie, 4 and Reef, 2, was diagnosed in February, 2017.
“It was a massive shock. I have two very young children,” Mrs Brisbane said.
“I also lost a friend about two years prior to getting diagnosed from a sarcoma. So I knew exactly what a sarcoma was and I knew how bad it actually affects people, because I watched what it did to my friend.”
Mrs Brisbane said the cancer doesn’t respond to chemo.
She requires immune-therapy combination treatment which can cost up to $100,000 a year.
They're honestly going to save my life.
- Mikaila Brisbane
“This treatment is free to other types of cancers but not mine because it is so rare.”
Alveolar soft part sarcoma is also most frequently found in young adults and teenagers and often begins in the lower extremities.
“Mine started in my butt cheek,” Mrs Brisbane said.
“It spread through my bones, my organs and my soft tissue.
“It is quite a slow growing cancer and because of that people generally find it when it is too late and that's how I found it – I found it at stage 4.”
Shell Cove resident Cassy Peters, along with her family and friends started the Shell Cove Wine Tour to raise money for a different family each year.
Mrs Peters said helping Mrs Brisbane was a no-brainer. “She’s a young mum who needs help and we’re happy to do what we can,” she said.
“The goal today is to at least raise about $18,000 to pay for the first part of Mikaila’s treatment. That’s the least we can do.”
Mrs Brisbane thanked everyone involved in the day.
“They're honestly going to save my life. It is incredible and I’m just so thankful.”
Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
