A young chef who thought her crippling back pain was due to long hours in the kitchen has been told she may only have 12 months to live after a shock diagnosis.
Mediana ‘Maddy’ Bouchard struggled with years of back pain but did what most young people in their 20s would do – popped a Panadol and got on with life.
‘I thought I was healthy because I was working 70 to 80 hour shifts a week so when I started getting back pain, I ignored it as I thought it was just from overworking,’ Maddy told Daily Mail Australia.
When she felt a ‘noticeable’ lump in her breast, she never thought anything was suspicious because she was ‘too young to have cancer’.
The chef led a seemingly normal life in Sydney. She had landed her dream job at a restaurant of a five-star hotel when she noticed her chronic back pain was getting progressively worse.
But after three months of suffering, she knew something was seriously wrong.
Her GP dismissed her symptoms so she switched over to another doctor who sent her away immediately for a CT scan, ultrasound, mammogram and a biopsy.
At just 27, Maddy was diagnosed with stage four metastatic breast cancer and an end-of-life prognosis – after the disease spread to her lungs, liver and bones.
Mediana ‘Maddy’ Bouchard struggled with years of back pain but did what most young people in their 20s would do – popped a Panadol and got on with life
The chef led a seemingly normal life in Sydney . She had landed her dream job at a restaurant of a five-star hotel when she noticed her chronic back pain was getting progressively worse
At just 27, Maddy was diagnosed with stage four metastatic breast cancer
‘It felt like I had my life flashed before my eyes,’ she explained.
‘But I am determined to make the last year of my life worth living. No more “later on” and “what ifs”… I just want to do everything right here, right now.’
A year before her shock diagnosis, Maddy, who has lived in Australia for more than 10 years after relocating from Indonesia in 2013, noticed a lump in her right breast – but assumed it was nothing serious.
As she worked her way up in the culinary world, she was promoted to chef de partie where she was in charge of running the kitchen at the restaurant.
Working for a major hotel chain, her job required her to transfer from one kitchen to another so she was constantly on her feet from 10pm to 6am.
‘I had just started my dream job and working as a chef so I didn’t want anything to get in the way,’ she explained.
‘Not many chefs want to work the overnight shifts so I worked overnight alone as I was in high demand.
‘But gradually, I felt pain in my back… The stabbing pain got worse when I woke up from my sleep, I had to roll on my stomach and slowly get up from that position.’
Over the years, she suffered from back pain – but the symptom was dismissed as a slipped disc.
The chef led a seemingly normal life until she was told she may only have 12 months to live
X-ray shows the cancer had spread beyond the breast to other organs in her body
She was taking Panadol and getting weekly massages to relive the pain – but nothing seemed to work.
‘The pain wouldn’t go away, so I thought it was weird,’ she said.
The ache in her back became so ‘unbearable’, she began struggling to focus at work.
‘Eventually I couldn’t take the pain anymore so I went to the GP.’ she said.
‘At first I went to a female GP who ignored my concerns and pleas to get a mammogram. So I switched to my current GP who was a god send.
‘He listened to me and ordered a CT scan, ultrasound and mammogram straight away which is costly without a Medicare but I’m glad I did it.’
When tests detected abnormal cells, her doctor referred her for a biopsy which led her to being diagnosed with advanced breast cancer in November 2023.
‘I had mixed emotions. I was crying and yelling when my GP told me I had breast cancer,’ Maddy said.
‘I noticed the lump for like a year but I wasn’t really aware of breast cancer. I thought only old people can get it because I was young.’
She was told the cancerous lump in her breast was the size of a golf ball, measuring 5.5cm big.
Maddy said she’s ‘cherishing’ each day as it comes – and is determined to live life to the fullest
Doctors estimated she may have developed the cancer from the age of 24.
Her whole world came crashing down when her oncologist told her she will likely have 12 to 24 months of life expectancy.
‘My oncologist was not optimistic,’ she explained.
‘I have to be positive about it otherwise I will lose the battle against my mind.’
As the cancer has spread beyond the breast to other organs in her body, Maddy said her only options for treatments are chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
‘Surgery was out of the question because the cancer has already spread. I have done three cycles of chemo and one cycle of radiotherapy so far. The doctors are optimistic the treatments will add time to my life,’ she said.
‘My recent scan confirmed the cancer had responded well to the chemo and my doctor said the cancer in my breast shrunk a little, which is good.’
Maddy said she’s had to use her life savings and her superannuation funds to cover the cost of her expensive medical bills.
‘I can access my superannuation early considering the circumstances,’ she said.
Maddy pictured after chemo. She lost her hair, eyebrows, eyelashes and all her body hair
Her family has travelled to Sydney to be by her side as she goes through cancer.
‘My family had to stay with me to take care of me because I couldn’t look after myself. It was so painful to move around and I was nauseous all the time,’ she said.
‘At first I couldn’t bathe myself, I was in so much pain, my sister had to stay up and give me massages in the middle of the night.’
Just weeks after her cancer diagnosis, she ended up back in hospital – fighting for her life after she developed pneumonia, a type of chest infection that affects the tiny air sacs in the lungs.
‘I was in the ER after almost dying from pneumonia,’ she said.
Maddy stopped chemo a few months ago so she could try alternative medicine.
‘There’s no harm in trying anything to save my life,’ she said.
‘Now I’m on 150mg of morphine twice a day, on top of other medications. Plus buprenorphine pain killer patches. Just to control my pain because the pain is the thing I struggle with the most.’
With her savings running low, Maddy has started a GoFundMe page in the hope she could raise funds for her ongoing medical bills.
‘I had to stop working to focus on getting better so at the moment, I have no income to pay the bills,’ she said.
‘I hope I can win this battle.’
Just weeks after her cancer diagnosis, she ended up back in hospital – fighting for her life after she developed pneumonia, a type of chest infection that affects the tiny air sacs in the lungs
Maddy said she has always wanted to become a doctor so she hopes she could get through her cancer journey.
‘I hope one day I can go back to school one day to become a doctor so after I beat this cancer, I can help find the cure to cancer,’ she said.
Warning signs
She hopes by sharing her story, Aussies can look out for the early warning signs – including unusual lumps, sudden weight loss, fatigue or loss of appetite.
‘Look for any unusual lumps around the chest and breast area, any unexplainable pain that won’t go away and it won’t hurt to go to the doctor and ask for more tests,’ she said.
‘Before my diagnosis, I also experienced sudden weight loss, fatigue and loss of appetite. If I saw the warning signs early on, I could have had necessary treatments.’
Most people with early stage breast cancer can be treated successfully.
For now, Maddy said she’s just ‘cherishing’ each day as it comes – and is determined to live life to the fullest.
‘I want to keep fighting despite the odds against me,’ she said.
To make a donation, you can find Maddy’s GoFundMe in the bullet point.
