Dear Reader – Unfortunately Nat passed away on Friday December 19th, surrounded by family and friends. She has touched many lives and will continue to do so. I will be putting more posts here soon to try and help any partners of cancer sufferers out there wanting to know what to expect and to add to Nat’s story.

Thank you so much for the support the world has shown us. It has been unexpected and humbling. Note that any gifts received from now will go direct to Nat’s Trust which in effect will go to Jackson for education etc in due course (account number 02 1244 0070800 00). You have all been amazing and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Love – Greg Murphy

Hi, my Name is Natalie Murphy (Natalie Swan)
20 months ago, at 33yrs old and with an 8mth old boy, I was told  I had Stage 4 Breast Cancer.
I was given 2-5yrs to live.
Then 2 days ago I was given only 2-8weeks!! (sorry video above will be updated soon)
Im still here fighting for everyday and hoping my strength of spirit will prove them wrong and I will be an exception – as the oncologist said getting 3mths would make me a very lucky girl – well thats what I am!!!

I have been through 5 months of AC Chemotherapy where I lost my hair from head-to-toe, a year ago I had a bi-lateral mastectomy and then tried another round of  chemo called Capesidabine. Chemo proved to be unsuccessful for me. Between Chemo I did Intravenous Vit.C treatments, took expensive supplements, ate better, did the juicing, many ozone treatments, microcurrent, etc etc…all of which I was able to do with the help of fundraising.  It was almost a full time job trying to do all this while trying to spend as much time as I can with my 2yr old son. Life became very tiring and very expensive, let alone having any money to enjoy the last year + of my life with nice holidays or even weekends away. More fundraising then allowed my husband, son and I to enjoy two  wonderful holidays over the past 20mths for which we are truly grateful.
With chemo no longer an option for me, I researched for days and eventually found what I thought was a  new hope – GcMAF was to be my next attack on this ‘war’ going on inside me. It is based around a protein (GcMAF) which I injected myself with once a week. Its job was to boost my immune system and enable it to fight as it should be doing naturally. The treatment didnt work. I was too far gone for the macrophages to fight.  This was hard to accept but I promised myself I would never do NOTHING.
So now I am on a product called DCA. This breaks down cancer cells. Fingers crossed it helps as with my most recent news, it really is my last hope. It is not an expensive treatment, about $65 a week so I have nothing to lose.

Facing possibly anything between 2-8weeks (a little more if im really lucky) my family and I are now focusing on quality and trying to make the most of everyday together. We have a few things planned to look forward to like renewing our wedding vows after 10yrs of marriage, taking small trips to some local spots to have some much needed quality time away from it all but basically we have decided to slow life down, smell the roses and appreciate every single day together.

What help do we need now? Well Greg will have a funeral to pay for. And I want to ensure he and Jackson are not left with nothing to fall back on for whatever they need. Money is the last thing I want Greg to have to stress about when he should be able to just focus on grieving and looking after Jackson.

We also could use some help with getting this ceremony happening in 3 weeks time. Food, alcohol, chairs, marquee, flowers, cake, photos, video, and the usual stuff. So if you have any contacts please let me know.

If you can donate no matter how big or small, it would mean the world to me and my family.

Please read ‘My Story’ by clicking on the menu. Its not a short read but I believe it is worth it if you can take the time.
I wrote about my journey to raise awareness of Breast Cancer in young women and encourage them to check themselves from 20years old, not 40! I also want to encourage people to appreciate what they have and live their lives to the fullest. Life is not about our jobs or the things we own. It’s  about relationships and appreciating those we love.

It would mean alot to me if you could pass the link to My Story on to as many people as you can. It has already been around NZ, Australia, Ireland, America, Africa, the UK, Vietnam…and no doubt more places I’m not even aware of. Please help me to raise awareness and save as many lives as I can as a result of early detection.

Thank you so much in advance…we appreciate it more than words can say.
Love Nat, Greg and Jackson x

(5 Dec 2011)