Aberaami Gnanachelvan (Thananjeyan 2011) 

It was recently brought to our attention that one of our fellow alumane,  Aberaami  has been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. 

Treatment in Australia has not been working, so Aberaami and her young family have travelled  to the USA with the hope to come home cured.

Aberaami and her supporters, including her sister Shay Thananjeyan (2013), have started a Go Fund Me donation page. They are keen to share the news with the alumnae community and any donation would mean the absolute world to Aberaami . 

Aberaami Gnanachelvan (Thananjeyan 2011)

On 20 January this year, our lives were turned upside down. I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Still shocking to write those words.

My husband and I had just started our lives together as new parents. Our baby girl Ariya had just turned 7 months old, I had gone back to part-time work and life was good. We were excited about 2023! Little did we think that some back pain would mean cancer.

Since being diagnosed I have been poked and prodded like a science experiment. I started chemo straight away, which meant I lost my hair almost instantly. Yes, hair is such a superficial thing, but to go from normal life to worrying about if my daughter will recognise me has been mentally so hard.

At this point we didn’t have a diagnosis, since it was too hard to biopsy my pancreas. I then had a biopsy of my spine which also came back inconclusive. Still no diagnosis and I had already started chemo. My brain couldn’t accept that I had cancer because I’ve always had my health on my side. I grew up playing competitive sport, my body grew a baby, and I was running 5km the week before my diagnosis, so how does one have stage 4 cancer?! 

I ended up having a small part of my lung removed and that confirmed the worst, pancreatic cancer that had spread.

I want to fight this awful disease, I’m not even close to being done yet. I feel like every life experience has prepared me for this. I need to get through this for my daughter, for my husband, for my sister, for my parents, for my extended family and for my friends. I am a big believer in miracles, and my Ariya needs her mummy, so I am going to beat this, just need to find the thing that works for me.

Thank you for reading my story, and any donation would be hugely appreciated.

Aberaami Gnanachelvan (Thananjeyan 2011)