Miss World Australia national finalist Tirah Ciampa has revealed her heartbreaking battle with pancreatic cancer. Photo / Instagram
Miss World Australia national finalist Tirah Ciampa has revealed her heartbreaking battle with pancreatic cancer. Photo / Instagram
Miss World Australia national finalist Tirah Ciampa has revealed her heartbreaking battle with pancreatic cancer which at one stage had her “getting ready to be gone”.
Speaking to The Mercury, the Hobart-based model said she was first given her diagnosis in February after doctors found a 15cm x 15cm tumour inside her pancreas that was so aggressive it had eaten half of the vital organ.
The 27-year-old told the publication that even though her diagnosis came this year, her symptoms began way back in March last year after she experienced excruciating pain through her abdomen and back, as well as an almost-10kg weight loss.
Going from 58kg to 49kg, the Miss World contestant said doctors initially believed she was suffering from a heart problem. “My resting rate was really high, somewhere around 110 bpm. I’d go to work with 48-hour heart halter monitors on, but scans found nothing.”
She was then referred to a clinic that specialised in women’s health and a sonographer found she had a huge mass in her pancreas. Noting the medical professional was quite young, Ciampa said they “ran” from the room before returning 30 minutes later with their superior who told her to “go to the hospital immediately”.
From there, Ciampa underwent an eight-hour surgery at Royal Hobart Hospital to remove the tumour and part of her pancreas that left her feeling in “limbo”.
“The worst part was that I didn’t know the severity of the cancer until weeks after my diagnosis — or if they had successfully removed it all.”
She continued to say that for a long time after her diagnosis, she was in “limbo”. Explaining that she felt as if she had been “pushed into a corner” where she couldn’t feel anything or show her true emotions for fear of how her loved ones would react, the Miss World contestant felt she had to handle everything by herself.
Confessing she wrote letters to her loved ones, and effectively had a “spring cleaning” of her life, she did heartbreaking things like making sure her funeral was paid for and that if she did pass away, the life she left behind would be “an easy mess” to clean up.
“I was getting ready to be gone,” she told the Australian publication.
Tirah Ciampa shows a long scar running from her upper chest to her belly button from the lifesaving surgery. Photo / Instagram
Fortunately for the young woman, her “hell” came to an end four months after her March operation and she is now preparing to compete for the title of Miss Australia at the national finals on the Gold Coast in August.
As a result of her cancer battle, Ciampa now has a life quite different from the one she had two years ago. She is no longer able to drink alcohol, nor can she play any sports.
She has also suffered massive physical changes such as a long scar running from her upper chest to her belly button — that she admits is something she isn’t scared to show off, “even in a two-piece bikini on stage”.
Ciampa also has a permanent clot in her spleen but despite all the changes she now faces, she is thankful for her life and has decided to use her upcoming pageant as a way to raise money for Variety Children’s Charity and volunteering at a youth centre in Hobart.
