My first love became ill 12 months ago. The day I learnt of her plight I was amongst 10,000 travellers inside the Sydney Airport departure hall. Surrounded by so many people, all rushing to board a Friday night flight home for the weekend, I felt so incredibly alone. I was in a queue as long as the Larapinta Trail when Amanda began to cry on the phone. I sought more information, and she reluctantly revealed the doctor’s test results. My head began to spin. I pushed to the head of the queue and demanded the next flight home. The Qantas staffer saw my desperation and I was on a flight in 10 minutes. Thank you, Qantas.

Cancer is like most serious illnesses. We all know people who have fought and in many cases, beaten this serious disease, but despite the number of friends and acquaintances afflicted, we still think it will never happen to us. Well, this busy but rather nondescript Friday night, cancer entered our lives.

The time from initial diagnosis to the mastectomy was only a matter of days. Amanda was so positive, giving me two thumbs up, as she was led into surgery. The operation confirmed immediate surgery had been critical, as the cancer had progressed at an alarming rate, into her lymph nodes. However, the procedure was successful, as the skilled surgeons were able to remove all abnormal tissue.

The last 12 months have been a roller coaster of emotions, with Amanda in and out of hospital for most of that time. This included three months of chemotherapy, four weeks of daily radiation therapy and a ridiculous regimen of injections, pills and visits from the field nurses. Add to this two cases of staph infections and some serious post radiotherapy side effects... well, it has been a very tough year for both of us.

For most of the year I have been the primary carer, chef, nutritionist, driver, nurse, breadwinner, psychologist, cleaner, husband and friend. Despite all these roles, I have felt quite helpless. I have seen the incredible care and support given by the staff in the hospital and am now going to give something back to the doctors, nurses and other staff who looked after Amanda so well.

wilderness footpads, it spans approximately 680 kilometres from Tharwa in the ACT to Walhalla in Victoria. The total ascent is over 20,000 metres, which equates to climbing and descending Mt Everest twice.

A handful of people walk this track in its entirety each season. A few may do it solo. However, I’m walking to fight cancer, to hopefully raise money to cure this insidious disease.