or signup to continue reading Beth Doggett was 19 and ready to launch into her rite of passage: a trip to Europe. Instead she was told she had a brain tumour and three months to live. Today, 13 years on, the effervescent 32-year-old says she's "doing life" but there's more to it than that.
With husband Rowan by her side and dog Frank not far away, Beth admitted she reached a crossroad a few months back. Did she challenge herself and "tell her story"? Could she cope with feeling vulnerable all over again in the hope some of the experiences she faced as a teenager help someone in a similar position now? "I want to share my story because it's so important for people to be aware there are long-term survivors of brain cancer. "I want to create awareness and I want to go down the advocacy angle with my life," the , NSW, resident said.
That advocacy and support started years ago but first, where it all began. The only child of Paul and Marisa Abbey had finished her secondary schooling in Wollongong. She'd been dealing with a series of fainting spells, initially attributed to "hormones".
As the incidents grew more frequent Beth and her parents sought extra medical help. The family's GP ordered an MRI and from there, in Beth's words, "it was all go". "I didn't have any time to process anything and I think that's why I don't have a head in my sand approach - because I haven't been able to.
"It was an MRI then emergency brain surgery. And I honestly, I don't remember too much from that..
