A year ago, Izzy Thurlow was training for endurance events, teaching fitness classes, and pushing her body to its limits. Today, after cancer treatment and major surgery, simply being able to move again feels like an achievement and a reminder that strength isn’t always about going further, but about showing up. As told to Adrienne Matthews.
At 21, I thought I had everything sorted. I’d left Nelson in 2022 after finishing school, headed to Dunedin for health science, and then made it into medical imaging in Christchurch, the course I’d always wanted to do. As the year went by, life felt like it was finally clicking into place. I was studying towards becoming a radiographer, teaching high-intensity classes at Les Mills, and training hard. I remember thinking I was happy. I was fit. I had goals.
Sport had always been a huge part of my life. I’d done competitive swimming, adventure racing and horse-riding, hockey and played netball. I loved pushing myself so when pain in my leg started, I didn’t think too much of it.
As it got worse it was hard to sleep. Other odd things happened like feeling sick in the middle of the night and losing weight.
The first doctor I saw said it was probably a torn muscle but I didn’t believe it. When you exercise a lot, you know your body, and I knew this wasn’t that.
I kept pushing through until seeing a physio, who immediately picked up that something wasn’t right and sent me for an X-ray. After that, everything started moving quickly.
The radiographers asked if I’d broken my leg before. I hadn’t. There was an ultrasound the same day. I knew something was wrong but I still didn’t expect what was coming. MRI and CT scans followed, and then I was told I’d be seeing a surgeon. They wanted me to bring a family member. I tried to brush that off, but Mum insisted on coming down from Nelson.
I looked up the surgeon online and saw he specialised in oncology. I didn’t panic, thinking it was most likely something orthopaedic. I was surprised when he said I had osteosarcoma, a rare and aggressive bone cancer in my fibula.
I think the first thing I said was, “So… does that mean I can’t exercise?” The answer was not no, but I needed to change my focus to strength training. Every time I ran or jumped, my leg was essentially trying to break.
Even while everything was unfolding, life didn’t stop. I had exams coming up, so I kept studying and kept the news mostly to myself.
Before the chemo started, I went through the process of having my eggs retrieved which would protect my future fertility from potential damage caused by the treatment. I woke in recovery and studied flashcards for an exam the next day. Somehow, I managed to pass all my exams really well. I was so proud of that.
About a month after my diagnosis, I started chemotherapy. Six cycles in total. Two major surgeries and almost a full year of treatment. It was pretty terrible.
After the first round, I had night sweats, couldn’t eat, and felt unbelievably fatigued. There were times I had to go back into hospital because I just couldn’t keep food down. The hardest part was how long it all felt. After that first week, I remember thinking, this road is huge but it was so important to keep going.
I wasn’t supposed to study but I know myself. I need to stay busy so I enrolled in an online personal training course and worked through that during treatment. I finished it recently, which felt really good.
Even in hospital, I found ways to move. There was a rehab bike on the ward, and if I felt okay, I’d get on it for half an hour just to clear my head. I did lose a lot of fitness. The steroids caused me to gain about 20 kilos, which was really hard mentally but I tried to focus on what I could do, not what I couldn’t.
There were setbacks too. I had a nine-hour surgery where they removed part of my fibula, muscle, and a nerve, which has left me with foot drop. Then I found out they hadn’t removed all the cancer, so I had to go back for another surgery. That was tough.
During treatment, I split my time between Nelson and Christchurch. When I was in Christchurch, Mum stayed at Rānui House and Apartments while I was in hospital. Having that base made such a difference. The apartments are really nice, and there’s a communal kitchen where volunteers bring in baking. Mum loved that. She’d always go and see what had been baked that day.
At the hospital, I also had support from a youth advocate, Louise, who worked with young people going through cancer. That was huge. She could sit in on appointments, help explain things, and just be another person there who understood.
My family has always been there for each other, but we just get on with things. I know it was a lot for Mum, travelling back and forth with me, but I also had amazing support from my boyfriend and close friends, although some people surprised me by disappearing. I think illness can be hard for some people to handle.
I finished chemotherapy in January and recovery has been its own journey. I’ve been doing Pilates, swimming, walking, strength work, and slowly rebuilding. It’s been humbling. I used to push myself constantly, but now it’s more about appreciating that I can move at all.
There are still challenges. My leg isn’t the same, and I have ongoing follow-ups for the next few years, but at the moment, it’s clear, which I’m so grateful for. I’m back on study placement now at Christchurch Hospital which feels like a big milestone after taking a year off.
I definitely see life differently now. I find it hard when people complain about things like going to the gym or studying because those are privileges. Being able to do those things is something you don’t think about until you can’t.
I don’t take much for granted. I’ve become involved with the Rangatahi advisory group for young people with cancer across New Zealand, and I’m one of the co-chairs. It’s a way to support others, share advice, and help people feel less alone.
This year, I signed up for the Christchurch Marathon but not in the way I once imagined. Before all of this, I would’ve been chasing something big. Now, I entered the 10km walk. I did it with Mum, a friend, and her son, who had also stayed at Rānui House.
For me, it was about giving back. Rānui made such a difference to us, and this felt like a way to say thank you. My leg still plays up, but that didn’t matter.
Life feels different now. I’m back at the gym, walking and swimming and really appreciative of everything I can do. I’m even looking at getting back into swimming more seriously, possibly in parasport. It’s about finding new ways to do what I love.
If there’s one thing this experience has taught me, it’s that showing up matters. Not in a big, dramatic way but just taking the next step and being grateful that I can.
