At just 17 Maddy was told go home and prepare to die

Maddy Ritchie is a walking miracle.

The 21-year-old Sydney girl was told, at the age of 17, that she had incurable cancer, and three months to live.

"It was just after school graduation in October 2015," she tells 9Honey. "I found a lump on my pelvis. It pretty much just popped up on day."

Maddy says the lump was the size of a pea. She went straight to the doctor and was told it was most likely an ingrown hair.

Over the next two weeks, the lump tripled in size, but what alarmed her the most was how sick she was feeling.

"The lump wasn't painful, but I lost bladder and bowel control and I was short of breath," she says. "I kept collapsing and vomiting."

Maddy returned to her GP and was sent straight to the local hospital emergency room.

"I was sent away for a biopsy down in Sydney (at the time she was living on the Central Coast in NSW) and from there I was moved to Randwick Children's Hospital," she says.

"This all happened within the space of a week."

Maddy was diagnosed with stage four Rhabdomyosarcoma - cancer of the soft and connective tissue, common in young children.

"They gave me three months to live," she says. "My oncologist said my case was so severe and inoperable.

"I thought, 'Oh my God, this is it."

But once the shock began to fade, Maddy refused to believe she was going to die.

"I can't really explain it," she says. "They did tell me to prepare to die but said there was a small chance, a tiny chance I could make it past three months."

Maddy was transferred to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle so she could receive treatment closer to home.

The treatment plan was aggressive.

"The protocol was specifically for me to have chemo each week for the first three months so I was sick all the time," she says.

But it worked. After her first three months of treatment, her tumour had decreased by more than half, which was unusual for this type of cancer.

More chemo was scheduled, as well as radiation therapy to both her pelvis, and to a secondary tumour found on her leg.

"The radiation therapy destroyed me," she says. "I lost my fertility and went into early menopause. I Have severe bowel issues because of it and lost 15 kilos."

Maddy continues to suffer the devastating effects of her treatment, but she's alive.

"My health is great," she says. "I was fully cleared in June, 2016, but I still struggle a lot with continuing side-effects.

"But I'm clear. That's the main thing."

Maddy says she shares her story to help raise awareness of cancer in young people.

"Anyone can get cancer, particularly young people, and people don't realise how even after recovering from cancer it's a life-long thing," she says.

Maddy is now focused on her future, studying midwifery at the University of Technology, a decision she struggled with.

"I think for me I just want to be a part of helping other women create their families, even though I will never experience it," she says.

Maddy is one of CanTeen’s Youth Ambassadors and has set herself a goal to raise $174,000 to support other young people like her. To give to Maddy’s appeal, please visit www.canteen.org.au/maddy