FREYLA FERGUSON talks to a remarkable former athlete and journalist who won the fight of her life and wants to share the story…

BREAST cancer survivor and former journalist AnneMarie White says if she was going to die at the hand of cancer she wanted to die “screaming and raging”.

AnneMarie, whose outstanding sports journalism and media career has led to an Order of Australia medal, a Prime Ministerial Award for “Outstanding Media Coverage” for her contribution to women in sport, plus dream gigs at the Athens Olympics and the Melbourne Commonwealth Games, will speak at the Pretty in Pink – National Breast Cancer Foundation Luncheon at the Woden Tradies Club on November 12.

“I guess my dream is that just one dollar raised from a function I’ve spoken at, could be the dollar that funded the research that found the cure to cancer,” she says.

After her husband passed away four years ago, AnneMarie decided to start a new adventure and more recently moved to Canberra to be closer to her daughter and grandchild.

She has just recently taken on a communication position with CSIRO and is volunteering with FIT (Females in Training). She has also signed up to take part in the Tour de Femme 20 km cycling competition and the WAG – Tri (Women and Girl’s Triathlon).

“It’s a new adventure in my life,” she says.

“Once you are in a place, it’s best you be as involved in that place as you can be.”

AnneMarie was working part time at the ABC’s Toowong studios in Brisbane when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003. The building was infamously abandoned in 2006 after being associated with a cancer cluster, however AnneMarie doesn’t like to bring attention to the fact.

“It brings up a lot of memories for other people,” she says.

AnneMarie’s story of survival began on the Friday before Mother’s Day – the day she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“In that weekend, I had to face my own death and I did wallow,” she said.

“Together with my family I did face the inevitable that I would die.

“But by Monday, I thought I would give it my best shot.”

And she did. After six months of chemotherapy and five years of medication she’s been given the all clear, but even then, she says, the chance of it coming back never goes away.

“I’ve always had the philosophy to live a big life,” she said.

“I realised how much more I wanted to live and do, and how much more I wanted to love and laugh.”

It was her battle with cancer and the inspirational women she met along the way that inspired her to write her book “Telling It Like It Is: 23 Breast Cancer Journeys”.

She said if she could use her skill as a writer to raise money for cancer research she would “go to the grave knowing that I had contributed to the world.”

AnneMarie’s journalism career started in 1984.

“I was an athlete and I actually lost my cool with a newspaper in Toowoomba because they didn’t cover a women’s sporting event,” she said.

“In the end the editor said: ‘Maybe you should do it’.

“Ever since then I’ve had a passion to see equality of media coverage for women and men in sport.”

AnneMarie was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2007, which saw her travel overseas and research “innovative ways of increasing media coverage of women in sport to provide positive healthy role models for young women.”

The following year she was awarded an OAM for her services promoting women in sport through media and advocacy.
AnneMarie has represented Queensland in netball, water polo swimming and has won national lifesaving titles.

She is also ranked in the top four in the world for Masters swimming, received gold and bronze medals for water polo, and represented Australia in the 2001 World Veterans Athletics Championships.

Pretty in Pink – National Breast Cancer Foundation Luncheon, at the Dickson Tradies Club on Saturday November 12. Tickets at www.thetradies.com.au