High Cost of Cancer Treatment and Dismissive Doctors: A Mother's Fight
When Helen Baker's breast cancer returned, it came as a devastating shock. The 35-year-old mother from Lake Macquarie had finished treatment six months earlier and thought she was in the clear. But after experiencing rib pain, she sought specialist help and was told she might be imagining things due to anxiety.
"I was basically told you can create things in your head if you're anxious," Mrs Baker said. She insisted on a scan, which revealed the cancer had spread. Now living with stage four triple negative metastatic breast cancer, she faces an incurable diagnosis.
Close friend Katy Mulholland started a GoFundMe campaign titled "Give Helen the Gift of Time for Her Health and Family" to help with mounting costs. "Helen is one of the kindest, most genuine people you could meet," Mrs Mulholland said. "She's already been through cancer once and used her savings to get through that period."
Mrs Baker estimates her cancer treatment and lost income have amounted to about $50,000 since her first diagnosis in 2024 at age 34. "The cost of everything is ridiculous," she said. While some costs were covered by health insurance and Medicare, specialist treatments carried additional fees, including a consultation with an IVF doctor to consider freezing her eggs.
"I ended up not freezing the eggs because they wanted to start treatment," she said. "Unfortunately, now because the cancer has spread, I'm not allowed to have any more children." She has been sick for half of her daughter Evelyn's life. Evelyn, four, and husband Richard are "everything to me," she said.
Initially treated in the private sector, Mrs Baker switched to the public system due to cost and dissatisfaction with her oncologist. She is now being treated at the Calvary Mater Newcastle, where she says her new oncologist has been "beautiful."
Mrs Baker has started an Instagram account, helensfighttosurvive, to share "the raw truth of living with an incurable disease." When she first had symptoms, one breast was engorged and double the size of the other, similar to mastitis. But she had stopped breastfeeding 12 months prior and knew something was wrong. Despite seeing two doctors who told her everything was fine because she had no lump or family history, she pushed for a specialist referral. "I think it's hard for young women to be listened to. I want women to be aware of this," she said.
She is now on chemotherapy medication and will undergo treatment for the rest of her life. "I've been told I'm likely facing a limited number of years," she said. "Saying that still doesn't feel real. I'm not ready to leave my daughter." Her focus is on creating the best memories with Evelyn. "What breaks my heart is the fear that I won't see her grow up, fall in love, achieve milestones and that she won't remember me," she said.
Despite the grim prognosis, Mrs Baker refuses to give up. She is pursuing alternative therapies alongside traditional treatment, including hyperbaric oxygen therapy and infrared saunas. "I've got nothing left to lose," she said.
Her initial treatment included chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiation, followed by a mastectomy in the private sector, which was covered by her health fund. She tried to fight for a double mastectomy but was refused due to the high risk of infection. After initial chemo, doctors discovered the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes; they removed 19 lymph nodes, all of which contained cancer.
Mrs Baker's story highlights the financial and emotional burdens faced by cancer patients, as well as the importance of advocating for oneself in the healthcare system.
