Christine Medina once feared she may never walk properly again, but soon she will tackle a very special run.
The Braybrook woman is running the five kilometre event at Run Melbourne on July 29, marking almost two years since she was diagnosed with a rare cancer in her leg just months after her 20th birthday.
Ms Medina said she visited her doctor when she noticed a lump on her leg and following surgery to remove the lump, tests revealed it was cancerous.
“Apparently it’s literally a one in a million cancer,” Ms Medina said. “It was a shock when the doctors at Peter Mac [Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre] told me. I remember I had to go back to uni after the appointment, and I went through Fitzroy Gardens and just had to find a place to let my emotions go.
“I pretty much hid inside the park crying for 15 minutes before I was able to calm down.
“To be told you have cancer at 20 is a big shock.”
What followed was 28 days of intensive radiation therapy at Sunshine Hospital, followed by a 10-hour surgery where roughly two thirds of her lower left leg was removed
and replaced with skin and muscle from her thighs.
Ms Medina put her midwifery studies at Australian Catholic University on hold and began the long road to recovery.
“There was a hole on my leg at one stage where I could see the bone, so that was pretty interesting,” she said.
Ms Medina is tackling the five kilometre event at this year’s Run Melbourne to give back to the hospital that helped her through such a difficult time.
“I just want to spread the word about the work that Peter Mac does, and anything I can do to help them with this run would be fantastic,” she said.
