After 7 years Love Your Sister’s Connie Johnson has made the momentous decision to stop treating the breast cancer which has now spread to her liver.
The mum-of-two told The Canberra Times that the last round of chemotherapy had not helped, but instead caused her further distressing side effects.
Over the years, Connie has had a double mastectomy, plus chemotherapy and radiation. She also had three to four years of treatment for bone cancer she suffered at age 11 and a tumour in her womb at 22.
“So that’s 10 to 11 years of cancer treatment in a 40-year lifespan and I guess my organs are just saying, ‘No more. No more’,” she said.
“And I thought maybe it was time to consider stopping treatment. So we called a family meeting. And basically, it wasn’t my choice. I can’t have any more chemo medically. So that’s a game changer.
“I asked what to expect and at some point the tumours will grow back and grow bigger and I’ll go into liver failure and I’ll sleep a lot. Apparently it’s quite peaceful.”
The 40-year-old also said she’s hoping for ‘one last hooray’ and is planning to raise another $1 million for breast cancer, through the Big Heart Project which will take place in Canberra on May 10.
Love Your Sister has been collecting 5 cent coins from around Australia to create an ‘unofficial world record’ giant heart of coins and, most importantly, to raise money for breast cancer research and awareness.