Morning walkers might have noticed a flash of pink on Sunday as breast cancer survivor Maureen Bloothoofd hit the Bellarine Rail Trail.
Known as Mia to friends, the Leopold mum was doing her bit for the Mother’s Day Classic during COVID-19 isolation.
The event supports breast cancer research, a cause close to Mia’s heart since she was a diagnosed in 2018 at age 45.
“They told me I was lucky because it was caught early,” she said.
But she still had to endure 14 months of treatment including surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.
“I had a port in my chest for 11 months … and St John of God hospital became a second home,” she said.
Husband Mark, her two boys Thomas and Jack, then 11 and nine, and friends and family helped her get through the ordeal.
“I’m lucky and so grateful to be here to tell my story,” she said.
Mark bought her a treadmill on her first day of chemotherapy, she said.
“I walked every single day, even if some days I didn’t get far, I’ve no doubt how much it helped me through.”
Mia first walked in the Mother’s Day Classic last year on Geelong waterfront, just days before her last treatment.
“I was determined to do the walk as a … celebration of the end of treatment,” she said.
This year she joined the “wonderful women” in Geelong’s Strive2Thrive program and thousands across Australia walking alone or with their households.
While the COVID-19 pandemic kept fundraising to a minimum, Mia said “the girls have bigger plans for next year” and “can’t wait to walk together again”.
