Mum-of-two, 34, dies of cancer after she went to the doctor with back pain

A mother of two has died of cancer a year after going to the doctor with back pain she thought was due to her period.

Melinda Kolodynski, 34, passed away in Sydney on Thursday, just weeks after doctors gave her a devastating end-of-life prognosis that she “didn’t want to accept.”

“We spend another few days with our heads in the pillow, tears streaming down our cheeks, but it’s time to get up and carry on, because there’s a fight to be had and I’m not here yet ready,” she said. bravely written.

Her bold message inspired her friends and family – who begged her to “keep fighting.”

“If you fall, get back up, without you our everyday lives just wouldn’t be the same, so put on your tune and get back where you belong,” pleaded a friend.

Before Mel died. she explained that her greatest regret would be not to see her two children grow up.

The loving mother left her husband and two sons, Maximus, seven, and one-year-old Corey.

Loved ones responded to the sad news by donating to the family GoFundMe in an effort to help the family through their grief and all the financially challenging moments ahead.

Other devastated friends expressed their dismay at the mother’s death and vowed to hold on tighter to their own children.

Melinda’s cancer nightmare began in 2020, when she noticed a dull ache in her back – she dismissed it as menstrual cramps.

She relied on Panadol to get through her hectic days with the kids.

But in July, two months after the pain started, she suddenly experienced unimaginable pain.

“By 11 p.m. I was in the worst pain of my life. I begged my husband to kill me while we waited for the ambulance, it was that bad,” Ms. Kolodynski said. 7News in December.

Paramedics managed to numb the pain and rushed her to hospital where CT scans revealed a cluster of three masses suspected to be advanced ovarian cancer.

However, further investigation revealed a much scarier diagnosis: an extremely rare angiosarcoma, soft tissue blood cancer.

“It’s a one-in-a-million kind of cancer…Because I was in my pelvis as a primary cancer, mine was actually a one-in-ten-million case,” she said.

After unsuccessful attempts at chemotherapy, Ms. Kolodynski was told her only treatment option was a grueling 16-hour surgery to remove the organs around her pelvis and replace them with ostomy pouches.

But at the last minute she was told that the tumor had grown too large for the operation to work.

Last month, she revealed in a heartfelt Instagram post that she was receiving palliative care.

“As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end, and I’ve allowed myself a stay in palliative care for what I like to call a quick adjustment after a suspected malignant septic episode.

“My scan results were not good and it has taken me a few days to collect myself and prepare for the next chapter of this horrible disease,” she wrote at the time.

‘Cancer has spread to my liver and is quite advanced, my oncologist is talking about a prognosis’ which I honestly just don’t want to accept, so again we spend a few days with our heads in the pillow, tears streaming down our faces, but it’s time to stand up and fight on because there’s a fight to be had and I’m not done here yet,” she continued.

Her eldest son, Maximus, also suffers from a long-term health struggle trying to lengthen one of his legs, which was too short from birth.

Ms. Kolodynski said last year she wanted to focus on helping him and preparing both her children for the moment she passed away.

“I’ve had to tell him that mommies can’t always be there forever and that daddy and grandma will take care of him and his mommy will always be in his heart,” she said.

Mrs. Kolodynski’s mother, Tracey, has a GoFundMe to help support her family and ensure that her daughter lived her final days to the fullest.

“This has turned her and her little family’s life upside down,” Tracey wrote.

“Anyone who knows Melinda knows she is a fighter who never backs down and who is a generous and caring support to all who need it, but now it’s her turn and she needs it more than words can express.”