Cancer survivor and Warrnambool’s 2026 Mother’s Day Classic ambassador Susannah Gleeson knows the life-saving value of research.
After being diagnosed with stage two breast cancer at the end of September 2020, Susannah was given a trial drug as part of her treatment.
The drug was an effective part of her recovery and was later approved for general use.
“Experiencing first-hand the impact research can have and seeing how survival rates are getting so much better shows why it’s important for people to contribute to the cause if they can,” she said.
Susannah will be walking for the first time at this year’s Warrnambool Mother’s Day Classic on Sunday May 10, and she encourages others to join. “Anything that raises awareness of cancer and raises money for research is invaluable,” she said.
She also encourages women to regularly check for lumps. “If I had left it any longer, it could have been a different story. I found the lump and two weeks later I was sitting in a chemo chair.”
That was the start of an intensive 12 months of constant treatment, including different types of chemotherapy, a mastectomy, breast reconstruction and radiation therapy.
“2020 was a year everyone wants to forget, but even more so for me,” Susannah said. “The one positive was that everyone was locked down, so I didn’t feel as isolated as I’m sure some other cancer patients do when they see other people’s lives continuing and they’re just in bed trying to survive and get better. It made me feel like I wasn’t the only one having to stay at home. “You’ve got to find some positive when you’re going through something like that.”
Susannah’s hormone suppression injections will finish in May. “I’m really looking forward to that,” she said. “It will feel like I’ve finally come full circle back to who I used to be.”
A mum to Jack and Ava, who were two and eight at the time of her diagnosis, Susannah said her children and partner Isaac were tremendous support during her recovery, along with her medical and oncology team. Now back working as a teacher at Emmanuel College and “being able to be a normal mum again”.
She is proud to take on the role of ambassador. “I saw the Mother’s Day classic happening last year and thought I should have done that. I told my Mum that we should do it together next year as she has been through her own breast cancer journey. When I was asked to be the ambassador for this year’s event, it was obviously meant to be”.
The 7km run starts at 9am and the 3km walk at 9.05am on Sunday May 10 from the foreshore carnival site on Pertobe Road.
