Young Aussie's $280k blow after 'rare' diagnosis overseas: 'Changed her life'
An Aussie woman living overseas is desperately trying to make the 1,300-kilometre journey back home after a spate of seizures led to a devastating diagnosis.
Shanique Hallgren, 30, moved to Canada three years ago with her fiancé James and has been thriving as a visual effects artist in the film industry. However, their incredible adventure took an unexpected turn after she was diagnosed with stage 3 high-grade glioma, a "rare and aggressive" brain cancer, following a seizure she had in their apartment.
"It's changed her life incredibly from being a 30-year-old with her life ahead of her to now coming to grips with having brain cancer that we don't know how that will eventuate for her in her life," Shanique's mum Tracey Monahan told Yahoo News.
The couple already had plans to move back to Australia this year but Shanique's cancer diagnosis has solidified their decision to move closer to home — with the mounting medical bills within the Canadian health system making it even more difficult to imagine a future where they remain overseas.
However, getting back to Australia is proving difficult as the tumour is positioned in Shanique's frontal lobe, an area of the brain that controls primary motor function, and she is now having difficulty with the right side of her body and is unable to walk unassisted. The seizures are also causing major concern, as the couple did attempt to board a commercial flight but Shanique suffered another within 24 hours of departure, making a medical flight the only option.
"So the neurologists and the oncologists have said that they do not want her to travel on a normal flight, because the pressurisation in the cabin will affect the swelling in her brain," Tracey said. "She would be stabilised on a medical flight, however, a private medical evacuation flight from Canada to Australia is around about $280,000."
The family have set up a GoFundMe page in a desperate bid to raise funds for the journey.
"She's on immense amounts of drugs to cope with the cancer and the effects of the seizures," Tracey said.
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Brain cancers are rare in Australia, with Cancer Australia estimating there to be just over seven cases per 100,000 people. It is unknown what causes gliomas, and while grade 1 gliomas are easily curable with surgeries, grade 2 to 4 provide a more challenging prognosis.
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