Bareback riding on a horse, Parachuting and flying a fighter jet are things that Alisi Jack-Kaufusi never thought she could do.
Six years ago, the HR manager received the “soul-crushing news” that she had stage three ovarian cancer when scans revealed two grapefruit-sized tumors on each ovary.
Despite the best efforts of the doctors, the diagnosis is final and the doctors cannot confirm exactly how much time he has left.
Now Alisi, who is originally from New Zealand but lives in Brisbane, has compiled a “timeless list” of everything she wants to do when she can.
Before her diagnosis, Alisi, now 30, experienced swelling in her lower abdomen, was tired “all the time” and her periods were “irregular”.
But she dismissed the symptoms as she thought she was “too young to have serious health problems”.
Six years ago, Alisi Jack-Kaufus was diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer (pictured in early 2019 when her hair started to grow back)
Now Alisi, originally from New Zealand but living in Brisbane, has compiled a “timeless list” of everything she wants to do when she can
During a visit to the GP in October 2017, she mentioned that she had been bleeding for about a month and the blood was clotted and dark.
After several blood tests, an MRI and a CT scan, she was scheduled for a biopsy when the doctor noticed “something blocking” her ovaries.
Alice’s world came crashing down in December 2017 after she was told she had ovarian cancer at the age of 24, as the average age for women diagnosed with the disease is 64.
– When I heard about ovarian cancer, I looked at my mother and froze. It felt like the room was silent and I could only see the doctor’s mouth moving. Everything was just a blur. I just remember saying to the doctor, ‘No, this can’t be because I’m only 24, you’ve got the wrong person,'” Alisi recalls.
“The medical team told me that I got this disease 30 years early, it was difficult to deal with and still is. When you think cancer, you think old.
By the time she was diagnosed, the cancer had spread beyond her ovaries.
I had to have a total hysterectomy and unfortunately they couldn’t save any eggs. In your 20s, the last thing on your mind is accepting the fact that you can’t have biological children of your own. I felt robbed,” he said.
“It feels like all my hopes and goals are squeezed into a smaller time frame. I might not die tomorrow, but I might not live long enough to have long-term plans.
Alisi has compiled a ‘timeless list’ (pictured) of 72 activities and itineraries – from seeing the northern lights to teeth whitening and a safari in South Africa
So far she’s skydived, flown a fighter jet (pictured) and ridden a horse on the beach
“Riding the horse was so therapeutic, and flying the fighter jet was so exciting – I felt so free and could forget everything for half an hour,” he said.
Alisi has compiled a “timeless list” of 72 activities and itineraries – from seeing the northern lights to whitening your teeth and going on a safari in South Africa.
“Riding the horse was so therapeutic, and flying the fighter jet was so exciting – I felt so free and could forget everything for half an hour,” he said.
Alisi also wants to travel to Tonga to swim with whales because that’s where her family is from, and to bungee jump in New Zealand.
Although he has started the list, he is not sure if he will have enough time to complete it.
“The only regret I have is that I didn’t go to the doctor sooner to check my symptoms – I put it off by about three months,” she said.
– The doctors were great, but I really put off making an appointment. I had never heard of ovarian cancer before my diagnosis.
“I was so upset, shocked and scared about what the future was going to look like.”
Fortunately, he had the support of his family throughout the ordeal.
“The only regret I have is that I didn’t go to the doctor sooner to check my symptoms – I put it off by about three months,” she said.
By sharing her story, Alisa wanted to remind other women with cancer to “take each day as it comes” (left in her 20s before and right after diagnosis)