A Werribee thyroid cancer survivor is taking part in a landmark Cancer Council study that will focus on the risk factors behind less common cancers.
Kelly Cowlishaw, 33, has signed up for the Forgotten Cancers Project after being diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2012.
“We went on holiday and I wasn’t feeling myself,” she said. “When I got back I had my iron levels and all that checked and they said my thyroid wasn’t functioning properly.
“They found a lump and did a biopsy and the doctor rang and said ‘come in for your results and bring your husband with you’.
“It was really quite scary. I didn’t even really know what a thyroid was.”
Ms Cowlishaw, who has three children, had a thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine therapy before getting the all-clear.
She recently came across Forgotten Cancers Project on her Facebook feed and signed up.
Forgotten Cancers is a research project looking at brain cancer and 15 other less common and rare cancers.
The Cancer Council wants to recruit 15,000 Australians who have had types of cancer that are not among the “big five” – breast, bowel, prostate, melanoma and lung.
Cancer Council Victoria epidemiologist Fiona Bruinsma said it was important to learn more about these less common cancers.
“We don’t want to take away from the importance of doing research into the more common cancers but we want to refocus some of our research efforts on to less common cancers,” she said.
“Then, hopefully, we can start making gains in treatment.”
For more information, go to www.forgottencancers.com.au
