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New Zealand’s biggest fun run, Round the Bays 2023 is set for Sunday, March 5. More information on Round the Bays 2023 be found here.
Aimee Rose was only going to the doctor with her sister for support. When it was suggested that she too should have a routine bowel check, she did it out of solidarity.
Two weeks later Rose was the one going for surgery after the shock discovery of a nearly 7-inch tumour in her colon that required urgent removal.
“Initially, I didn’t have any symptoms…. I went under for a colonoscopy and unfortunately found a mutation. My cancer was terminal,” she told Stuff from her home in Auckland.
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The Rose family is tragically familiar with the spectre of cancer, after Rose’s mother passed away in 2005.
And now, after the diagnosis of carcinoma at 28-years-old, Rose’s family and friends have quickly rallied around – especially Steph Jackson-Young, her best friend and bridesmaid.
The best friends have trained to compete in Round the Bays together on Sunday, ahead of Jackson-Young’s wedding in September.
They have matching running gear to go along with their matching Bambi tattoos, etched side by side in memory of their mums (Jackson-Young also lost her mum from cancer). .
Aaron Yates
Stephanie Jackson-Young and Aimee Rose are racing Round the Bays together – in the midst of Aimee’s cancer treatment.
The pair met in 2017 through Jackson-Young’s then-boyfriend , and bonded quickly – over having the same birthday, the same brand of humour, and the shared tragedy of losing their mums at young ages.
“Ever since then we’ve been the best of friends, we see each other really frequently, she has been such a champion at helping me through this diagnosis.”
Aaron Yates
Aimee Rose described her husband Aaron as “incredible” support throughout her trial and training.
Rose appreciates the deep level of connection – Jackson-Young understands the journey through grief and the suffering it entails.
“She’s been there when I’ve been lying on the floor, crying my eyes out, and she’s been able to come over and literally pick me up off the floor.”
Fast-forward one year from her diagnosis, and Rose has been training for Round the Bays – occasionally stopping to throw up on the neighbour’s lawn, but always pushing through and completing the round with her best friend by her side.
Aaron Yates
Stephanie Jackson-Young and Aimee Rose training together.
For Rose, the treatment itself has been worse than the disease – before the colonoscopy that revealed her tumour, she had been symptom-free. Now under a drug trial, she is experiencing intense hot flushes, fatigue, and nausea.
She has taken time off work to manage her symptoms but still comes back to the classroom, where she works as a primary school teacher, whenever possible: “I love being back at school and back with the kids, it’s so much fun.”
Rose and her husband have moved forward their honeymoon to September this year at her doctor’s recommendation, with plans to travel around Japan.
The last twelve months have seen so much change in Rose’s quarter – with a new diagnosis, new drug trial, and new running regime all happening at once.
But when she talks about her journey, it’s with a core of steel – the kind of honest, drily funny narrative offered by someone who has seen deeply into life, and flecked with appreciation for her friendship and for her “incredible” husband, Aaron.
“My main goal is to be able to prove to myself that I can still do hard things. I may have cancer, but cancer certainly doesn’t have me.”
New Zealand’s biggest fun run, Round the Bays 2023 is set for Sunday, March 5. More information on Round the Bays 2023 be found here.
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