成人大片

Shona Edwards was on track to complete her undergraduate studies in 2018 when she was diagnosed with papillary meningioma 鈥� a tumour at聽the base of her spine.聽

鈥淩eceiving the news changed everything for me, but I kept studying聽because I really needed to feel 鈥榥ormal鈥�. I continued to study聽part-time in 2018 amongst surgeries and treatments then travelled to聽Prague at the end of that year for Proton Beam Radiation Therapy 鈥撀燼 three-month intensive schedule of daily therapy,鈥� Shona said.

An advocate for Youth Cancer Services and Cancer Voices South聽Australia, Shona is passionate about research that not only saves time and聽is less invasive, but ultimately provides better outcomes and quality of life.聽

鈥淭hat kind of treatment is really time consuming and exhausting on the聽body, and after Prague I took a year off to recover. It is why I am so聽interested in new technologies and new innovations, including the聽research and clinical trials that will be happening at the South Australian聽ImmunoGENomics Cancer Institute (SAiGENCI)鈥�.

鈥淒isability and chronic illness are also quite common aftereffects for聽people who experience cancer. Today I live well with cancer, but the聽tumour is not gone. I use a wheelchair and crutches to get around as well as having a support worker who聽helps me get to uni,鈥� she said.

In 2020 Shona returned to her studies to finish the subjects she missed in 2018, graduating with a Bachelor of聽Arts (Advanced). She received the Brock Honours Scholarship to undertake her Honours in Classics in 2021,聽and she is currently in the first year of her Masters of Philosophy (Classics).

I think people underrate the impact of scholarships on students and their ability to be able聽to afford to live, especially if you have a disability like me. I cannot work more than odd聽jobs,Shona Edwards

鈥淭he scholarship was also encouraging for me. It validated that the quality of my work was not affected by聽my previous struggles,鈥� she said.