Young mum's cancer shock at 28 after suffering nose and tooth pain: 'Heart shattering'

Young Aussie mum Carina Borg had only just welcomed her third child when a devastating diagnosis completely turned her life upside down.

"I'm still in shock, disbelief, and denial to be honest," Carina tells Yahoo Lifestyle of the moment she was told her flu-like symptoms and nose and tooth pain after the birth of her son in December were being caused by a very rare and aggressive form of cancer.

"Three days after giving birth to my son I woke up with a blocked nostril - only one side and I assumed it was just a flu starting," the 28-year-old tells us.

But after four rounds of antibiotics and with her sinus pain worsening, Carina had a "gut feeling" something wasn't right.

"By about week 6 it got extremely worse with intense gum and tooth pain like nerve pain, pus and blood draining from nostril, sharp ear pain, extreme jaw pain, loss of taste and smell."

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Carina sought treatment and was initially diagnosed with sinus problems, but further scans revealed she had a tumour.

The tumour was removed and a biopsy performed. Her youngest son Jayden was just 9 weeks old, when she received the devastating diagnosis of Stage 4 NUT Midline Carcinoma.

"My ENT [Ear, Nose and Throat] specialist broke the news to me, I just remember going completely numb, falling to the floor, and just sobbing," Carina says. "All I could think about was my three children, all I keep thinking is why? Why me?

"Never in a million years did I think I would be battling this at 28."

Carina and her husband Justin have three sons - three-year-old Luca, two-year-old Hudson and Jayden who is now three months old - and she says they are still "too young to understand what's going on".

"My three-year-old is quite switched on, he knows somethings up, I just keep telling him mummy's a bit sick when he asks me to do something I'm incapable of," she says.

"It's heart shattering when I've been his all, being a stay-at-home mum and devoting my life to my children."

With her young family in mind, Carina is determined to fight the disease and along with her doctors, they've made the decision to 'hit her hard' with treatment.

"Because the cancer I have is so rare and so aggressive there isn't much literature about what the best way to tackle this cancer is. So doctors all around Australia have made a joint decision to hit me hard with two doses of chemotherapy and two doses of immunotherapy every three weeks."

The immunotherapy in particular is not subsidised and costs a minimum of $13,000 per treatment (this can be higher if a higher dosage is required).

Carina will need a minimum of six treatments, possibly more depending on how successful these sessions are.

A GoFundMe was set up to help pay for the expensive treatment, with husband Justin also taking time off work and downsizing his business to take care of the couple's three kids.

"I'm so blessed to have the most supportive husband. He's been my pillar of strength, picks me up when I feel like crumbling and is the most loving father," Carina says.

"I've got a great support network with so much love and support which gives me that much more of a reason to fight."

Carina urges people to not ignore lingering sinus pain or infections and go and see a doctor.

In the meantime, she will continue to fight the disease for her young family.

"My kids are the only thing that make me wake up in the morning with a smile, give me a reason to smile every day and make me fight," she says.

"My three-year-old tells me daily affirmations and make me repeat him "'You're strong mummy, you're brave mummy, you can do this mummy'. I need them and they need me more than anything."

You can donate to Carina and her family at the GoFundMe here.

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