It's never easy finding out you have cancer, but that's just the start.
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The journey to recovery is a long and tedious one and everyone deals with it differently.
Some days will be tougher than others and one person who knows all about it is Robertson resident Kirrilee Bracht.
She was diagnosed with grade three breast cancer and invasive breast cancer in January, which was a difficult time for her, but she has managed to stay strong so far.
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To help herself cope and to keep others updated, the 41-year-old has been documenting her journey through a blog called "Swimming through Winter".
"I have been very honest, vulnerable and open about my experience so far by publishing a blog about it," Kirrilee said.
"In the long run, I'm hoping it will be of some assistance to someone.
"At this stage, I really believe that it is helping me process information and accept the stages along the way, and perhaps even prevent some post traumatic stress.
"Friends that don't see me all of the time have found it helpful to go to see how I am travelling."
In her blog, she writes about her first mammogram and the thoughts going through her mind at the time as well as the moment she found out she had cancer.
She details her feelings, both physically and mentally, on the side effects of chemotherapy she has undergone so far on her road to recovery.
Throughout the blog, she also consistently talks about going for swims because that is her biggest coping mechanism.
She is a much-loved member of the Southern Highlands community, with long-term involvement in the Rural Fire Brigade, the Anglican Church and Moss Vale Amateur Swim Club.
To show their appreciation, members of the community have been donating to her GoFundMe page which was created by her friends Cassy Rath and Rosie Holmes.
Everyone who knows her knows how important being in the water is to her, so that's why the money raised went towards the purchase of a spa.
"The GoFundMe page has been a very humbling experience," Kirrilee said.
"That aside, the gratefulness to people around us who have given so freely has been appreciated and welcomed beyond words.
"We've been given so much in such a short space in time and have been able to purchase the outdoor spa, the platform that it sits on and for it to be wired in.
"Just Spas in Wollongong provided the spa at less than cost price and with free delivery and chemicals.
"Maritiana Constructions managed to build a platform for it before it arrived and Nehemiah Electrical wired it in."
To follow her journey, visit https://swimmingthroughwinter.weebly.com/
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