Dear family and friends,

Please help me raise funds to support the work of an incredible local charity - Cancer Support WA.  

You can make donations with ease on the site below towards my portrait – a gift of a lifetime and a unique style of artwork. It is a glass photograph of myself by world-renowned portrait and fashion photographer Robbie Merritt.    All proceeds go to Cancer Support WA and their incredible contribution to wellness in WA.

Can you or your company please help me to reach my target by June 14 2013?  Donations are tax deductable.

My story is below.

Many thanks,

Dee Page

My Story

Treasured Gift of Life

I love living life from the inside out.  My family circumstances challenged us to think outside the box; they inspired in me a passion for the extraordinary; and discernment about what society considered as normal.

By far my greatest teacher has been my conquering of cancer.  I am a long-term survivor of 3 cancer episodes, twice beyond the odds.

Learning Curve One: 1986: Nourishment

My cancer story started when I was 32. Malignant cancer of the cervix was diagnosed and I lost my womb at a time when starting a family was a priority.

With loving support I recuperated well but my life was changed forever. Living in Singapore exposed me to Eastern thoughts on healing.  I changed my diet, ate more vegetables and whole-grains, recommenced yoga and looked deeper at the meaning of life. I had also met the man who would share my road to recovery and share his two beautiful children with me, though they lived far away.

Learning Curve Two: 1988 – Love, Joy and Healing

Two years later, in 1988, a CT scan and biopsy revealed an advanced, inoperable tumor, the size of a large lemon, in the pelvic wall. I was offered an experimental chemo and radiotherapy treatment that might give me a 10-15% chance of survival.  The odds were low but spurred me to think outside the square and strive for peak results.  I wanted to live.

Enter the Cancer Support Association (now Cancer Support WA). I felt I’d come home.  Warm, empathetic, wise people, many of whom had been through the journey, shone their light on my path. Reading, meditating, and attending support groups helped me evolve.  I soaked up information and tried a variety of healing practices.  Ian Gawler’s book ‘You Can Conquer Cancer’ was a mainstay and helped buoy my efforts on the road to wellness.

My love of the inner work and spirituality grew deeper and to this day they are a central part of my life. 

The kindness and thoughtfulness of my husband Rob, family, friends and associates put wind under my wings.  Some of them saw what I was doing as weird, yet they supported me. Cards, deeds, their prayers and good wishes lightened my load as I scaled the mountain to wellness.

I learned about loving and living in the present, letting go, the wonder of nature, forgiveness, and to not be possessed by possessions. I felt free, empowered, radiant, and trusting. Though my body was in peril I had not felt better in years.

Within 3 months the tumour was gone. Severe damage to my pelvic plumbing by the medical treatment remained and needs to be managed to this day, but my sense of purpose, to make a difference using my experience, was profound.

Learning Curve Three:  1990: Joyful and Meaningful Living

Two years later, in 1990, the cancer recurred in my right lung; it was advanced, and inoperable.  I was told no treatment could help me, and that I should prepare to die.  I implored my oncologist to find a thoracic specialist who would operate and work with me as a team.  He did. I had half my right lung taken.

Using my mind and engaging with the inner work of healing I thrived, and today I have the vitality of a teenager…most of the time

During the cancer journey I trained in social sciences, counseling, Reiki, metaphysical and mind-body theories.  I worked voluntarily and professionally in Singapore and Perth with organizations and people fighting cancer, or seeking to live well with a deeper sense of meaning. My story reached national acclaim in Singapore, and was used to inspire others.

My upcoming book, due to be released in August, reveals the nature of healing as I experienced it in the hope that it assists others prepared to dig deep to be well.

Cancer Support WA is a special place. I see its work as a powerful contributor to wellness in WA.

Will you enthusiastically join sponsors of my portrait to raise funds for this invaluable sanctuary and what it stands for?  

Thank you,

Dee Page