'Three months after becoming a mum, I was diagnosed with cancer'

Roughly four months after welcoming her first child, Natasha Stork found herself tearfully preparing to breastfeed her for the last time.

One week earlier, the new mum had learned the abdominal pain she'd been experiencing was melanoma that had spread from her skin to some of her internal organs.

In order to begin treatment for her cancer, Natasha needed to swallow a pill that would stop her from lactating.

"That was probably the hardest part for me. I'd really wanted to breastfeed," she recalls to 9Honey.

"I breastfed my daughter one last time and cried my eyes out, and then I took that tablet."

The first time Natasha, 38, had an inkling something wasn't right in her body was during a late-night feed in 2015, three months into her life as a new mum.

At first, the Melbourne local thought she simply had a stomach ache or needed the toilet, but over the next few nights the aches persisted.

Natasha had her obstetrician check her stomach during one of Marley's appointments; they said the pain was likely related to breastfeeding her uterus contracting to its original size.

When the pain hadn't subsided several days later, Natasha was sent to hospital for an ultrasound.

That afternoon, she was called back in to her doctor's office, where she learned there was cancer "all over" her liver.

"[My reaction] was just dread and despair and shock. It was a sinking feeling," she recalls.

Natasha was referred to the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre, where further testing determined her cancer was melanoma that had progressed to her intestine, liver, hip bone and stomach lining.

"It was shocking I didn't have any symptoms sooner," she says.

When they received the official diagnosis, Natasha and her husband Grant were both shellshocked, but their thought processes were different.

"He was just petrified... he had the thoughts of 'What am I going to do as a single dad?'" she recalls.

"I remember him saying to me, 'What do you want me to do with the house if...?' and I just couldn't let myself think that way."

Natasha's default response was protection mode.

"I just couldn't go there, otherwise I probably wouldn't get myself up off the floor," she says.

She even refused to find out what her prognosis was, explaining: "I didn't want to let myself think about it, so I never asked."

Within one week of her diagnosis, Natasha began targeted therapy — at the time, a very new option — requiring her to take pills twice daily to block the growth of cancer.

After one day on the treatment, she felt different: "I remember jumping around in the kitchen with my husband saying, 'My pain's gone!'"

Natasha's doctors conducted scans as the therapy progressed to check whether it was affecting her tumours. She appeared to have a quick response to the treatment; within eight weeks, she was told she had no evidence of disease.

However, the elation was short-lived. A scan in November 2015, three months after Natasha began targeted therapy, revealed some tumours had reappeared on her liver and inner abdominal wall.

At this point doctors started her on immunotherapy, a treatment administered through an IV injection that works to assist the immune system in fighting cancer. She was told the treatment would span two years.

Fortunately Natasha didn't suffer from side-effects during treatment, and says it didn't really affect her on a daily basis.

"We struggled and we had low points, but for the most part I felt fine. I was still able to do normal things," she says.

Natasha also underwent two surgeries, the first of which came in January 2016, two months into her immunotherapy.

After a bout of severe stomach pains, an emergency CT scan indicated a small tumour on her small intestine had caused the organ to "swallow" or "telescope" on itself. Natasha's tumour and 10cm of her small intestine were removed in surgery.

A scan a few weeks later indicated the immunotherapy was working, as several of Natasha's tumours had shrunk or disappeared.

In May 2016, doctors decided to remove a tumour located on the mum's spleen as it didn't appear to be improving with treatment.

However, before commencing the removal, they noticed there were new spots around Natasha's liver and didn't think it was wise to operate while more growth was visible.

She says that conversation with the doctor was one of the most difficult.

A biopsy was taken of these tumours, and three days later the results revealed the growth was simply scarring from "old melanoma" that had died.

On June 3, 2016, the surgery was completed and Natasha was declared cancer-free and has been since.

Looking back on that overwhelming 12 months, she says trying to maintain an optimistic outlook helped her cope with the daily realities.

"I'm a really positive person, and I think when you're dealing with something like this you find out, without really wanting to, how strong you can be," Natasha says.

However, she still fears the prospect of her cancer returning one day.

"That can be really hard to deal with, but it only really affects me around scan time."

On October 6, Natasha and her family will be taking part in the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre's Wellness Walk and Research Run.

It's an annual ritual for the Storks that began the year she was diagnosed with cancer, with Natasha undertaking the walk during her treatment.

"I vowed that we would go every year of Marley's life, so every year we go. This is the fourth one," she says.

She admits the event is always an emotional day, prompting a flood of memories of the fear and apprehension she felt at that first walk in 2015.

"The medication I was put on wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for scientists and researchers working so hard to discover them. The money goes straight to them.

"It literally saves lives. The people who do that walk are saving lives, that's how I see it."

Find out more about the Wellness Walk & Research Run and how to register on the website here.