From struggle to strength

Matthew Flinders Scholarship

Helen is not your average medical student. A single mother of three and a cancer survivor, she has reached the fourth year of the Doctor of Medicine degree at Flinders University thanks to her extraordinary courage and scholarship support.

“It’s a demanding degree, which I’ve had to fit in alongside casual work as a pharmacist to support my three young children,” says Helen. “But I’m determined to become a doctor.”

Helen has always wanted to work in a health-related profession that helped people. After studying pharmacy in Melbourne, she relocated to Adelaide in 2020 and started her medical degree at Flinders two years later, inspired by the doctors she had worked alongside.

But her road to becoming a doctor hasn’t been easy.

“Raising three young children on my own, studying and working has been a real juggle, and the rising costs of housing, food, utilities and petrol have made the journey even more difficult,” says Helen.

“I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and my career as a doctor is within sight,” says Helen.

“If things had been this expensive back in 2022, I know my budget would not have stretched enough to even begin a medical degree.”

Then in her third year of study, the unthinkable happened – Helen was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“Last year I discovered a lump and was diagnosed. I have since undergone 20 weeks of chemo, had a double mastectomy and am currently completing my radiation therapy.”

With time off work for treatment, financial pressure and stress mounted, but she credits the donor-funded Matthew Flinders Scholarship and Dr Lesley Shorne Memorial Scholarship with helping her stay on track with her studies.

“The scholarships have taken a great deal of pressure off me,” Helen says. “With the funds I was able to buy textbooks, online resources and anatomy flash cards, which were all vital in helping me pass my end-of-year exams.

“With these costs covered, I have been able to work less and spend more time with my family and on my studies, not to mention the recovery time needed from my cancer treatment.”

Helen is now enjoying the challenge of a full-time placement in Oncology at St Andrew’s Medical Centre.

Thanks to donor support, she is looking forward to becoming a doctor and one day working in General Practice, Rural Health, Women’s Health and Oncology.

“Without donor help, I would be putting my degree on the back burner, but now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and my career as a doctor is within sight.”

You can provide vital support for students like Helen to continue their studies and reach graduation by giving to the Matthew Flinders Scholarship for students in financial need.

100% of your tax-deductible donation will support students in financial need through the Matthew Flinders Scholarship.

Donate today

^{Published April 2025. Author: Lynda Allen.}

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