Jessica Vainieri was thrilled at the prospect of celebrating her second wedding anniversary when she was suddenly diagnosed with an aggressive form of stage three cancer.
Now her life has been turned upside down as she battles a tumour in her chest.
The 27-year-old was used to living a busy life as a teacher’s aide and dancer until she started experiencing severe chest pains that left her easily exhausted.
After multiple doctors visited she was diagnosed with Primary Systemic Non-Hodgkin’s Mediastinal Sternum Lymphoma which caused a rare tumour in her chest.
Ms Vainieri told FEMAIL that this wasn’t something she would have ever expected when she married two years ago
‘I would love to go back in time and relive it all again, we had not a worry in the world and we didn’t know what was to come, but we are strong, we are fighting this together, through sickness and in health,’ she said.
Jessica Vainieri, 27, (right) was used to living a busy life as a teacher’s aide and dancer until she started experiencing severe chest pains that left her easily exhausted
After multiple doctors visited she was diagnosed with Primary Systemic Non-Hodgkin’s Mediastinal Sternum Lymphoma which caused a rare tumour in her chest
While Ms Vainieri was enjoying the honeymoon period of her marriage she had to be taken into hospital on the eve of Australia Day this year after a blood clot had been found in her brain.
The next day she received the news that she also had a tumour in her chest.
‘I just thought, “I’ll be fine, I need get through it”. I knew it was going to be a hard time but you never truly know how difficult it is until you go through it yourself,’ she said.
‘It’s hard both emotionally, physically and financially, but when I was told the news I said “okay, how can I get through it?”‘
While Ms Vainieri was enjoying the honeymoon period of her marriage she had to be taken into hospital
‘I just thought, “I’ll be fine, I need get through it”. I knew it was going to be a hard time but you never truly know how difficult it is until you go through it yourself,’ she said
Although the tumour Ms Vainieri has is easy to treat and apparently ‘easy to kill’, in the space of approximately three weeks it rapidly grew.
‘If we hadn’t caught it when we did it could have been much worse, or I could have had a stroke from the blood clot,’ she explained.
Before this, there had been months and months of tests as doctors tried to figure out why Ms Vainieri had changed from a ‘fit, young, healthy, dancer’ to a woman who could barely walk a block without being exhausted.
Her chest pains started in November last year although the numerous tests she underwent weren’t showing anything, but she persisted to find out what was wrong.
Although the tumour Ms Vainieri has is easy to treat and apparently ‘easy to kill’, in the space of approximately three weeks it rapidly grew
‘For ages I hadn’t felt like myself. Normally I was bubbly, energetic, I was teaching dancing, I was a teacher’s aide and I was in a band singing. I was a busy active person,’ she explained.
‘Suddenly the energy wasn’t there and my mind wasn’t there. I had some aches and pains which turned into chest pain, which then led to a swollen neck.
‘I’m not the kind of person to take Panadol or something when I have pain, but this was different, my mind knew something wasn’t right.’
No one could prepare Ms Vainieri and her husband, Adam, 29, for such sudden and overwhelming news.
‘I’m not the kind of person to take Panadol or something when I have pain, but this was different, my mind knew something wasn’t right,’ she said
No one could prepare Ms Vainieri and her husband, Adam, 29, for such sudden and overwhelming news
Within days of her diagnosis, the dance teacher had to mentally prepare herself for the long road ahead to recovery.
This included weekly admissions to hospital for a six month period to receive chemotherapy.
For the time being Ms Vainieri’s lifestyle has had to completely change as at the moment she can’t teach or dance – but she remains to have a positive outlook.
The teacher’s aide just finished her last round of chemotherapy and now has to follow up with weekly check-ups and scans to see if the tumour has reduced in size.
If it hasn’t they will need to assess what the next course of action will be.
Within days of her diagnosis, the dance teacher had to mentally prepare herself to embark on a long road ahead to recovery
For the time being Ms Vainieri’s lifestyle has had to completely change as for the moment she can’t teach or dance but she remains to have a positive outlook
The teacher’s aide just finished her last round of cancer and now has to follow up with weekly check-ups and scans to see if it’s reduced in size
‘I do try and keep as active as possible but I’m listening to my body as much as I can,’ she said.
‘My mum has been a massive support, she’s been helping me and my family and has come to stay with us to help out and meal prep.’
Adam, who she has been with for 12 years, has also been her rock of support.
‘We didn’t go to the same school but we had mutual high school friends. I can’t believe it’s been that long, I can’t imagine my life without him.’
‘My mum has been a massive support, she’s been helping me and my family and has come to stay with us to help out and meal prep,’ Ms Vainieri said
Adam, who she has been with for 12 years, has also been her rock of support
Another thing on Ms Vainieri’s mind is the fact that she wants to start a family, which is something else her cancer has complicated.
‘We have to wait at least a year. At one point I had to decide which treatment to use to preserve my eggs but now I’m corresponding with another hospital so we can monitor my eggs to make sure everything’s functioning right,’ she said.
‘This way we can try and use my eggs and so we can make it happen a little bit quicker but we have to wait a couple of months to see what happens.
‘It’s a bit scary to think we don’t know what might happen, but whatever happens, happens.’
While Jess has come a long way, there still remains a long road ahead, but Ms Vainieri continues to remain positive.
Another thing on Ms Vainieri’s mind is the fact that she wants to start a family, which is something else her cancer has complicated
‘I’ve surprised myself a little bit, at the start I expected to have a mental breakdown but when the doctors told me the news I said, “let’s not get down about it and do what we have to”,’ she said.
‘I’m just trying to be a bit more of a positive person and not get myself down about it, so I read positive quotes and am taking more time for myself. All of the mindfulness stuff does work.’
To help cover the medical costs Ms Vainieri’s sister, Annelise, started a GoFundMe account as a surprise, which was shown to her only once it hit its goal.
‘I was completely taken my surprise, it was the last thing I was expecting anyone to do because I wasn’t expecting anything from anyone,’ she explained.
‘To see so many people contributing and to see that it resonated with so many people was beautiful.
‘There was a lot of people I didn’t even know, which was even more overwhelming. It was heartwarming to know that strangers wanted to help me.’