Latest news with #KateHardman
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Family travel Australia after cancer diagnosis
A mother-of-three with terminal cancer who sold her home and went travelling around Australia in a caravan is hoping to make as many memories with her children as she can. Kate Hardman was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017 and given the all clear, but it returned while she was pregnant in 2023. Her family packed up their home in Brackley, Northamptonshire, and moved to Australia, where they followed the British & Irish Lions rugby team around the country. "Money can't put a price on any of those experiences," said Kate. In 2020, three years after Kate's breast cancer diagnosis, her husband Kriss was diagnosed with testicular cancer. She said: "Having gone through the first diagnosis with me, as soon as he thought something was out of place, he went and got it checked... a lot of men don't do that because of the embarrassment." Kriss was given the all clear, but in 2023 at 22 weeks pregnant, Kate found out her breast cancer had returned. At 33 weeks, she found out the cancer had spread to her spine. She was told it was terminal and that she had about three years to live. The 40-year-old said: "Since the diagnosis, we wanted to live our lives; we wanted to make amazing memories with the children while we still can. "Life sometimes; you think we'll wait for a rainy day before we do that, our rainy days came all at once and we were like 'Do you know what? We are just going to get out and live and do what we want'." The family moved to Darwin in the Northern Territory, before sub-letting their home and packing life up in a caravan to tour the country while sharing snippets on social media. She, husband Kriss, 35, and their three children (aged eight, four and two), hit the road on 27 June. They have visited cities including Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth and estimate they have travelled 3,644 miles (5,864km) on the road and 6,216 miles (10,004km) by plane. The family watched all three games in the stadiums and Kate said it was "very top of the list" and to do it via caravan was "an amazing experience". The family have been able to meet some of the players, including giving them a motivational speech. She said: "[Head coach] Andy Farrell had invited us to dinner to give the guys a bit of inspiration and present [Captain] Maro [Itoje] with his test jersey which was unbelievable, more than I can ever dream of." Her eldest son was a mascot for the second test, walking out with Itoje in Melbourne. "It was incredible, it was such a proud moment and we were made up for him," Kate said. "When you get a diagnosis like that everyone deals with everything differently. For us we wanted to get out there... we didn't want to sit and dwell on things. "If treatment changes or prognosis changes, then we'll deal with that when it happens." Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. You may also be interested in 'We quit our jobs and sold our house to travel the world with the kids' 'We sold our house and possessions to travel the world with our child' Family sell everything to travel world with kids Related internet links The British & Irish Lions Solve the daily Crossword
BBC News
6 days ago
- BBC News
Brackley family travels Australia after terminal cancer diagnosis
A mother-of-three with terminal cancer who sold her home and went travelling around Australia in a caravan is hoping to make as many memories with her children as she Hardman was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017 and given the all clear, but it returned while she was pregnant in family packed up their home in Brackley, Northamptonshire, and moved to Australia, where they followed the British & Irish Lions rugby team around the country."Money can't put a price on any of those experiences," said Kate. In 2020, three years after Kate's breast cancer diagnosis, her husband Kriss was diagnosed with testicular said: "Having gone through the first diagnosis with me, as soon as he thought something was out of place, he went and got it checked... a lot of men don't do that because of the embarrassment."Kriss was given the all clear, but in 2023 at 22 weeks pregnant, Kate found out her breast cancer had 33 weeks, she found out the cancer had spread to her spine. She was told it was terminal and that she had about three years to live. The 40-year-old said: "Since the diagnosis, we wanted to live our lives; we wanted to make amazing memories with the children while we still can."Life sometimes; you think we'll wait for a rainy day before we do that, our rainy days came all at once and we were like 'Do you know what? We are just going to get out and live and do what we want'." The family moved to Darwin in the Northern Territory, before sub-letting their home and packing life up in a caravan to tour the country while sharing snippets on social husband Kriss, 35, and their three children (aged eight, four and two), hit the road on 27 have visited cities including Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth and estimate they have travelled 3,644 miles (5,864km) on the road and 6,216 miles (10,004km) by family watched all three games in the stadiums and Kate said it was "very top of the list" and to do it via caravan was "an amazing experience". The family have been able to meet some of the players, including giving them a motivational said: "[Head coach] Andy Farrell had invited us to dinner to give the guys a bit of inspiration and present [Captain] Maro [Itoje] with his test jersey which was unbelievable, more than I can ever dream of."Her eldest son was a mascot for the second test, walking out with Itoje in Melbourne."It was incredible, it was such a proud moment and we were made up for him," Kate said."When you get a diagnosis like that everyone deals with everything differently. For us we wanted to get out there... we didn't want to sit and dwell on things."If treatment changes or prognosis changes, then we'll deal with that when it happens." Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
ABC News
15-05-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Terminal cancer diagnosis sparks young family's trip of memories and love
Kate Hardman was heavily pregnant with her third child when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given three years to live. "Your world falls apart, you're terrified," Kate said. She had previously been diagnosed with breast cancer twice, but this time it had spread to her spine, fracturing the C5 vertebra in her neck. Kate was flown from Darwin to Brisbane for immediate surgery on her neck and gave birth to her daughter a week later. "She came at 35 weeks, perfectly healthy, little bundle of joy, small but perfect," the proud mum said. "No effects from the treatment, the surgeries or anything that we'd been through." Kate, now 40, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017 after she discovered abnormalities while breastfeeding her first baby, a son who is now eight. She had a mastectomy on her left breast and was given ongoing medication, which she came off in 2021 so she and her husband Kriss Hardman could expand their family. In 2023, when she was pregnant with her third child, the cancer returned in her right breast. "I was 23 weeks pregnant when I was diagnosed for the second time with breast cancer, but it was bilateral … so I had a mastectomy on the right [breast]," Kate said. At 28 weeks, she began chemotherapy. "I started my chemotherapy and then I started to get a sore neck … it got increasingly worse … I was having spasms in it." A CT scan revealed the cancer had spread to her neck and was now incurable. "You kind of hit rock bottom, it's just devastating … your world gets turned upside down," Kate said. Her husband described the prognosis as overwhelming. "Everything is on your brain, a million miles an hour," he said. But after the initial shock, the couple decided it was time to shift their perspective and make the most of their time together. The Hardmans have created a list of everything they want to experience together as a family, while they still can. "Don't wait to live your life," Ms Hardman said. Along with their kids — their son, and their daughters, aged three and one — they packed their lives into a caravan almost two months ago and hit the road. The family plans to travel around Australia for 18 months, to create memories and to raise awareness about breast and prostate cancer, which Kriss has been successfully treated for. "My oncologist gave me a three-month supply of chemotherapy tablets," Kate said. "How it works is every three months, I have to give them notes of where I'm going, and I get my referral sent to that hospital. "I also have to do monthly blood tests, which get sent back to my oncologist in Darwin." Kate says that while she does suffer some side effects from the medication, they are manageable and don't limit her daily life. Raising awareness is also a personal mission for Kriss, 36, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2020. "I was lucky, I had some surgery and caught it really, really early," he said. "I don't think I would have caught it as early had I not had a wife who had breast cancer. "I would have put it off. I would have been one of those blokes that said, 'I'll go next week, next month', and then by the time you put it off and don't go, maybe it's too late." The Hardmans are urging people to have regular check-ups with their GPs. "It can save your life. It saved mine. If I had left it, I might not be here," Kriss said. Kate said cancer could impact anyone. And they still have plenty of goals to tick off. "We've still got countries and places written down in her little book somewhere that says I want to go and see this, do this, I want to experience this," Kriss said. "That's what I want to achieve while she is here … I want to tick off as many of these places as we can."
