'I was told to quit my job and enjoy the days I have left. So I did the last thing everyone expected.'

For Tayla, it all started with a pesky cough.

In October 2022, the young Sydney woman was loving her 20s.

When she wasn't working for the Animal Welfare League, she was spending her time with her partner Curtis and their circle of friends and family.

But then she got a bad bout of COVID-19 followed by a chest infection and an appendix removal all before the New Year.

However, her shortness of breath and cough continued to worsen to the point she was vomiting.

Watch: A brave message from Catherine, the Princess of Wales, on her cancer diagnosis. Post continues below.

The only thing to ease her pain was consuming prescription cough syrup four times a day.

Despite her declining health, she struggled to find a GP to listen.

"(I) had many tests and X-rays done to eventually be told it was stress-induced or anxiety-based, and I should see a psychiatrist," Tayla told Mamamia. 

"I kept questioning the way I felt because I knew something was wrong but didn't feel like I was being listened to."

Nearly a year after her cough began, Tayla finally found someone who would listen — an ear, nose and throat specialist (ENT).

The ENT discovered Tayla had extensive scar tissue in her throat resulting in a narrowing of her airways.

Finally, she felt heard.

She was placed on the waitlist for a dilation surgery, a routine procedure that would widen her confided throat.

But before her surgery date, Tayla was raced to the emergency room twice gasping for air.

And it was during her last admission when she was rushed through for her much-needed surgery.

But when she finally woke in the ICU, she opened her mouth and nothing came out.

She was mute.

What was supposed to be a routine procedure resulted in an emergency tracheotomy — surgeons had to create a hole in Tayla's neck and insert a tube for her to breathe.

"I had to write everything down on a note pad," Tayla explained of her only form of communication.

Thankfully, the tracheotomy would only be temporary, and it was removed after 14 days.

"(I) had to learn to breathe and talk again," she said, adding that she was placed on a minced and moist-only diet.

As a result of the surgery, Tayla was left with a husky frog's croak.

And as her hospital stay became a distant memory, Tayla's symptoms began to return and she sought advice from the ENT again.

And by the end of January 2024, she was booked in for another throat surgery, mere days after her wedding day.

Curtis and Tayla had been together for eight years and had their big day booked for March of the same year.

And when the day came it was perfect.

Image: supplied.

Curtis had to lean a little bit closer at the end of aisle to hear Tayla's vows as she attempted to project. Tayla had to cut most conversations short to save her breath and could only complete one round of the infamous Nutbush dance. But it was perfect.

Some of her favourite pictures are the ones of her taking her cough syrup throughout the night.

Days later, still elated from her wedding, Tayla was whisked into yet another throat surgery.

This time surgeons removed a portion of her vocal cord and voice box.

When she woke, it was like déjà vu.

Tayla could only whisper — but this time it was permanent.

Her husky croak was replaced by a gentle squeak.

That's when her doctor called her in to chat.

With Curtis squeezing her hand, Taylor was diagnosed with Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma (ACC), a rare and aggressive cancer.

She was just 27.

Thankfully, she was told the cancer was slow moving and she should respond well to treatment, she wouldn't even lose her hair.

Tayla finally had her answer, her reason for being so ill.

And this was her final hurdle to living a happy and healthy life.

But as she walked into her next oncologist appointment, her confidence came crashing down.

Tayla sat across from the doctor as her condition was labelled incurable.

"I was told I was actually terminal, and treatment was considered palliative care," Tayla said.

The next few weeks were a blur as she began fertility treatment to harvest eggs, and she was welcomed into a trial treatment in October.

"I get infusions every three weeks with six weekly scans to check how I'm reacting to the trial and if I need to move on to a harsher chemotherapy," Tayla said.

For now, the trial treatment is keeping the cancer from spreading, giving Tayla the energy to continue to spread kindness in every aspect of her life.

Not knowing how much time she has left; it was suggested she quit her job and start ticking off her bucket list.

But for Tayla, this was never an option.

"As I do still feel well, I didn't want to stop my normal day-to-day life to sit at home and wallow," she said.

"A lot of cancer patients don't have that opportunity as they feel so sick."

So, Tayla wakes and Monday to Friday dedicates her days to the Animal Welfare League in Kemps Creek, Western Sydney, with a smile stretched from ear to ear.

Image: supplied.

"It gives me purpose, I feel like I'm making a change in both people and animals' lives and my team are some of my best friends," she said.

She fills her weekends with laughter, catching up with friends and family who are her unwavering support.

Image: supplied.

"If you know her (Tayla), you already know she's a force of nature. She's funny, fiery, sarcastic, and above all, one of the most compassionate people you'll ever meet," close friend April described Tayla in her GoFundMe.

And in the quiet of her home, Tayla snuggles up with Curtis and their rescue Labrador, Archie.

For her, she wouldn't have life any other way.

"Curtis is my absolute rock," Tayla said.

"He looks after me every single day without making me feel like I'm made of glass and can't do regular things myself.

"He has seen me at my absolute worst and has been there every step of the way so really knows how I'm feeling and that I'm so happy, despite everything, that I can finally now breathe normally and be active again!"

You can donate to Tayla's GoFundMe here. 

Feature: supplied.