Hair loss can be a traumatic prospect for many, but this Canberra mum couldn’t care less – she almost lost her life instead.

In 2017, the now 47-year-old mum of two Jozica Kostrica’s simple cold turned out to be something sinister – a Leukaemia diagnosis.

“I was always active, and thought I lived a very fit and healthy lifestyle. I had a cold I couldn’t shake and was starting to get night sweats and then one morning at work I had this unusual chest pain,” Jozica says.

“I had some blood tests and the next day my doctor called me and said it was Leukaemia. I was emotional and cried for a bit, but then I just said to her, ‘help me beat this’.” 

Just one day after that fateful phone call, Jozica was admitted to Canberra Hospital, and the following week was preparing for chemotherapy and the fight for her life.

Jozica recalls that the most difficult part of her treatment was the complication after complication she experienced.

“I had a number of ICU visits, a septic infection in my hip which led to a total hip replacement, and my nerves shut down which left me paralysed for three months. I had to learn how to walk again,” she says.

“It was one thing after another, but actually the hardest thing was the clinical depression that came after all of that.”

Jozica never understood the depths of depression until she was thrown into the deep end, and she explains how she felt no emotion. It felt as though everything had just shutdown.

“I didn’t feel connected to anything or anybody, and for a mum you would want to have at least a little bit of feeling towards your children, if not anything else,” she says.

“I remember one night, my daughter was sobbing in her room crying, ‘I just want my mum to come and give me a hug’, but I couldn’t.”

Today, Jozica is in remission, and she has eternal gratitude to the late Dr James D’Rozario and his team who helped save her life. He passed away in January, and she finds it difficult to talk about him without tearing up – he was a lifeline for her.

Along with Dr D’Rozario, a band of family, friends, colleagues, and the staff in Ward 14B at the Canberra Hospital worked around the clock to give her the greatest care they could.

When asked if she was worried about relapsing, and if it was something that keeps her up at night, her response was evidence of her tenacious spirit.

“What happens if I relapse? Well, I just put my fighting gloves back on and go for round two,” she smiles.

Back in 2017, before losing her hair to chemotherapy, Jozica decided to participate in the World’s Greatest Shave. Although she had cancer at the time, she still says it wasn’t about her – it was for other patients who needed any type of support.

“On the World’s Greatest Shave website, it says ‘I have raised’ but it hasn’t been me who’s raised the money, it’s my community, family and friends,” she says.

“Everyone else has done all of this, all I’m doing it cutting my hair. I don’t mind losing my hair at all, because I was lucky enough to beat cancer and my hair will grow as long as I live.”

Her admiration for the Leukaemia Foundation is evident from her passionate will to raise as much money as possible for the organisation.

“They support people by paying for their accommodation, giving emotional support but also they do so much research, which is the most important thing,” Jozica says.

Her goal this round is to raise $10,000 and she’s not going to turn down extra donations if that goal is surpassed – and she’s almost there.

“My wish would be that one day, every patient would be able to be cured and that there wouldn’t be any after treatment side effects,” she says.

“If you take anything away from this, please do not ignore any symptoms you might have as they can be very hidden.”

If Jozica were to give any advice to anyone about to start cancer treatment, it’s to advocate for yourself, and “don’t be a hero”.

“When you get diagnosed with cancer, so do your family and your friends, just in a different way. They don’t go through the treatment itself, but everyone suffers in their own way,” she says.

“My daughter and son said to me that they had to grow up quickly, and instead of hanging out with their friends, they was spending her time in hospital with me. But they wouldn’t change it for the world because it shaped them into the person they are today.”

To donate to Jozica’s World’s Greatest Shave appeal, visit secure.leukaemiafoundation.org.au

Canberra Daily would love to hear from you about a story idea in the Canberra and surrounding region. Click here to submit a news tip.