For a year and a half, Kirsten Jovanovski lived with a lump on her face that doctors said was not serious.
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Biopsies and blood tests returned normal results, but Kirsten and her mum Samantha believed there was something more to it.
It wasn't until last August, after Kirsten had surgery to remove the lump, that their suspicions and fears were confirmed: the 17-year-old had Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer that arises when developing white blood cells in the lymphatic system grow out of control and form tumours.
"It was like being hit by a bus," Mrs Jovanovski said.
Other than the lump Kirsten experienced no other symptoms, but Mrs Jovanovski believed that had they accepted the initial diagnosis of a harmless reactive lymph node, she might not have been so fortunate.
The surgeon removed the lump entirely but Kirsten still had to undergo two rounds of chemotherapy and 10 days of radiation therapy, treatment that was difficult to endure and left her ill.
"It was a lot to deal with," Kirsten said.
Her diagnosis came in the midst of last year's COVID-19 outbreak so she spent August to November within the confines of her Figtree home.
Not only did Kirsten have to deal with the trauma of her cancer diagnosis, but she was also in the middle of her final year of schooling at St Mary Star of the Sea College.
Read more: Two Wollongong residents die with COVID-19
She didn't get to sit her HSC exams - something that was frustrating, after all the work she had put in - but she gained early entry to the University of Wollongong to study a Bachelor of Pre-Medicine, Science and Health, a course that will put her on track to a career in medicine.
Kirsten submitted her application for early entry the night before she went in for surgery, and sat her pre-medicine interview just two days after she completed chemotherapy.
And on top of all this, she raised over $12,300 for the Leukaemia Foundation through its Light the Night initiative.
"I couldn't be prouder as a parent to have watched her suffer as she has the last six months and come out the other side," Mrs Jovanovski said.
While Kirsten is now on the road to recovery, the heavy emotional toll of her experience remains for both her and her family.
She and her mother hope her story will encourage other people to listen to their gut and continue to seek answers if they feel something is off.
They said this was especially important given the vague symptoms blood cancer often presented with, such as fatigue.
"You really have to advocate for yourself when you know something isn't right," Kirsten said.
Kirsten has shared her story as the Leukaemia Foundation launches this year's World's Greatest Shave campaign.
The Leukaemia Foundation encourages people to sign up and raise money to support people with blood cancer, like Kirsten, and raise awareness.
The fundraiser officially runs from March 16 to 20, but people can sign up and shave at any time of year.
Meanwhile, new research shows that 70 per cent of Australians don't know that blood cancers are the second-most common cancer in the country and the second highest cause of cancer-related deaths.
Blood cancer is also the most commonly diagnosed childhood cancer in Australia.
The incidence of blood cancers has risen by 40 per cent over the last 10 years.
The most common symptoms include recurrent infections, increased fatigue, night sweats, bone pain, unexplained weight loss, bruising and enlarged lymph nodes.
The Leukaemia Foundation is concerned that with the spike in COVID cases, some of these symptoms might get mistaken for those of that virus.
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Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
