My Daffodil Day story

Published 5:00am 25 August 2022

Words by Kylie Knight

It’s 36 years since the first Daffodil Day in Queensland and Moreton Daily senior editor Kylie Knight was one of the faces of the campaign in its early years.

She shares her story on this year’s Daffodil Day, August 25, in a bid to help Cancer Council Queensland raise money for cancer research and support.

Daffodil, a symbol of hope

My daffodil story started in 1983 as a nine-year-old girl who enjoyed school (but didn’t live for it), had just begun to notice boys, and had long sandy-coloured hair.

They say the brain blocks out what is too painful as an act of self-preservation, so it’s either that or because I was exposed to some pretty strong drugs that my memory is clouded.

What I do remember are flashes of extreme pain, sickness, embarrassment, fear, vulnerability and, above all, a desire to live a normal life.

I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) after my mum found a lump in my lymph nodes which I had complained was sore. I had also been tired and had more bruises than usual.

Within the space of seven days, I had been seen by our family GP, a paediatrician and was in hospital starting treatment. It was a shock but, being so young, I didn’t understand how serious it was.

Besides being tired and sore where the lump was, I felt no different. The treatment is what made me feel so sick and before too long I was desperately hanging onto the few strands of hair I had left.

I responded well to treatment and went into remission almost immediately, but this came at a price.

I had an allergic reaction to one of the drugs used in the chemotherapy and became gravely ill. I spent the best part of three months in hospital with varying complications including pancreatitis and a temporary form of diabetes, and dropped to a skeletal 17kg because these conditions made it impossible and certainly not tempting to eat.

While this was a truly dark period in my life, there were rays of sunshine in the form of special friendships with other patients, letters from my Year 5 classmates and the invention of a new dance style that involved swinging IV tubes to the lively soundtrack of ‘80s pop group WHAM.

I also remember my late dad, a truck driver at the time, taking over the ward’s kitchen and making pancakes on the weekends in a desperate bid to make me eat.

My mum became a tennis fanatic, watching an entire ‘summer of tennis’ on television with the nurses at my bedside.

One of the lucky ones

It’s fair to say chemotherapy has come a long way since the ’80s thanks to research and experience, and the odds are certainly better than they were back then. I am a fortunate survivor from a time when bone marrow transplants were a new form of treatment and only performed in Sydney.

Losing my hair at an age when appearance was just starting to “matter” was terrifying. I wore a wig which resembled style made famous by singer Tina Turner. It delighted my younger brother, who would sing her hit What’s Love Got To Do With It? to tease me.

For me, a big part of my emotional recovery post-cancer was Cancer Council Queensland. I was an active member of their support and recreation program for teenagers with cancer and their siblings.

That group was a lifeline for me and made me feel normal again. We went on camps, had movie nights, days out to theme parks but above all we formed close friendships, shared our fears and supported new patients through their journeys.

I even met my husband, Gary, on a Cancer Council camp. He was there to support his sister who had been diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. We’ve been married 25 years and have two adult children – my own personal miracles – Ethan, 20 and Caitlin, 18.

Shaping my future

The Cancer Council also helped me on the path to becoming a journalist, by awarding me a Seize the Day scholarship which covered some of the costs of going to university. My first media job was fittingly with the same organisation in its public relations department and one of my tasks was to promote Daffodil Day.

So, when people ask me if I wish I’d never had cancer I have to answer, ‘no’. I’m grateful to have survived during a time when so many didn’t and feel an obligation to make the most of every day.

Having cancer as a child has shaped the person I am today. It drives me to enjoy every moment, sparks my optimistic outlook and ensures I don’t ‘sweat the little dramas in life’.

I’ll be supporting Daffodil Day again this year, in my bid to pay it forward to those just starting their cancer journey who need support and to fund life-saving research. I hope you will too.

How to support Daffodil Day

Money raised from Daffodil Day funds cancer research and support for those affected by the disease.

Volunteers will be selling daffodils at five shopping centres across the region on August 25 and 26 from 9am-5pm. They will be at Arana Hills Plaza, Strathpine Centre, Marketplace Warner, Kippa-Ring Shopping Centre and Bribie Island Shopping Centre.

You can also make donations online at https://www.daffodilday.com.au/