Goya Dmytryshchak
People have rallied to raise funds for a Williamstown mother of three who spent her life helping women fleeing domestic violence and is now battling a rare and aggressive cancer.
Skye Hawkins, 45, said she was “fighting fit“ when she experienced mild pains beneath her ribs and visited her GP.
Tests revealed a tumour on her pancreas and multiple secondary lesions on her liver.
In April she was diagnosed with advanced neuroendocrine cancer.
Ms Hawkins said she was in absolute shock at the diagnosis, with the death of her father still very fresh: he had died in November from a different form of pancreatic cancer.
The financial counsellor with WEstjustice community legal centre, supporting women who have just escaped family violence, has taken extended leave as she undergoes treatment.
“It’s just trying to hopefully slow down the process,“ Ms Hawkins said.
“… When you have an aggressive cancer, it’s like having a freight train run through your body and first of all you need to slow down the freight train before you can stop it.“
A GoFundMe page titled ’Skyzies Cheer Squad’ has been set up to support Ms Hawkins and her children, aged six, 22 and 25.
Last week, nearly $13,000 had been raised within the first two days.
Ms Hawkins said her diagnosis had driven home the need to value the simple things in life that she had, like family and friends.
“We all really, in the grand scheme of things, only have a blink of time here and just make the most of it,“ she said.
“Have fun, enjoy, be kind, be a good person.
“Life can just turn on its heels so quickly, and it does make you think about the relationships that you have and the people that you become connected with, and I think that’s partly a reason why this GoFundMe has done so well.
“When you’ve got good people around you, your vibe attracts your tribe.“
