Despite six years of setbacks, Lisa Banfield is looking forward to her new family life with husband, John, and their two new bundles of joy, Joshua and Lucas.

It has been a roller-coaster ride which has brought John and Lisa to this point. Originally mis-diagnosed in New Zealand (the gynaecologist was later struck off), Lisa was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1996. She had to undergo a radical hysterectomy.

In 1998 Lisa and John arrived in Australia and were looking forward to a new life, when Lisa discovered a lump. Although there were no other symptoms and no pain, Lisa was referred to Professor Hacker at the Gynaecological Cancer Centre. Lisa says he listened carefully, took a biopsy and then operated that day.

“He was so patient and caring and was very concerned about me,” said Lisa. “This man is incredible!”

When Professor Hacker operated to remove the tumour, he pinned Lisa’s ovaries up so that they would not receive the full blast from the radiotherapy and strength of the chemotherapy which was to follow. The operation took 3½ hours. Unfortunately, although the ovaries were high in the abdomen, the scatter of radiation or the powerful chemotherapy caused them to stop functioning.

“At that stage,” recalls Lisa, “I had now not only lost the ability to carry a baby, but also the ability to provide the eggs. I was told that I had a 50% chance of living 18 months. But my husband kept me going, and the staff at the Royal Hospital for Women were wonderful. They were all such a comfort.”

John and Lisa are both very athletic, and once Lisa had recovered from the chemotherapy and radiotherapy, they were back riding mountain bikes together and she was doing yoga. (Lisa had won an athletic scholarship to the University of San Diego when she left high school.)

“Every day I wake up and wonder if the cancer has come back, but all bad thoughts disappear when I ride my bike,” said Lisa, who has been riding bikes since the age of 3.

Lisa says she owes her survival to the work of Professor Hacker at the Gynaecological Cancer Centre. “I’m eternally grateful for this second chance at life,” said Lisa. “And it is all due to these unbelievable people at this awesome hospital in Randwick. Thinking and caring is so rare these days. You want them to discover something in their research because of the time, effort, and expertise they put into all this treatment.”

The couple decided to wait a couple of years before seeing what they could do about having a baby. “We just wanted to have a child to share the love that John and I have. But if it is not to be, then we will just have to cope with that. I don’t expect much; I won’t let it become an obsession.”

After about 18 months, a girlfriend of Lisa’s offered to be a surrogate mother, using Lisa’s sister’s eggs. They formed 19 embryos and the girlfriend tried five times, but it didn’t work.

When Lisa started having pain round her waist, Professor Hacker ordered an ultrasound to see if the ovaries might be causing the pain. To everyone’s surprise, they found that Lisa’s ovaries had begun ovulating again, even though she had gone through all the symptoms of menopause three years earlier.

With her new eggs formed into three embryos by IVFAustralia, Lisa and John set off to America in 2002 for another attempt with a new surrogate mother. They were paired up with a Mrs Prelewicz by CSP (Centre for Surrogate Parenting) in California, U.S.A.

However, in March 2003, the Australian Government introduced laws banning embryos being taken out of the country. Lisa lobbied the Government until she won an amendment to the laws, allowing her to take the embryos to America.

To Lisa and John’s delight, Mrs Prelewicz became pregnant in May, but she miscarried. After another attempt, she became pregnant again and the twin boys were born in late April, 2004. It was an incredibly emotional time for the Banfields and their families, as well as Mrs Prelewicz who was so happy for them.

A few weeks later, Lisa and John arrived back in Australia with their new boys. It had been a long journey, and there were many hurdles overcome, but they had finally made it.

Lisa’s update: “On the 10th October we had a naming day celebration for Joshua and Lucas. We invited Professor Hacker and his wife Estelle to this very special occasion. We asked Professor Hacker to read a reading at this celebration because we believe that without this man and the team he heads up, Lisa AND Joshua and Lucas wouldn't be here today."

Joshua & Lucas