Natalie May has always loved creating. From scrapbooking to art journals, craft has been her passion for two decades, ever since she started working at an Adelaide papercraft shop and went on to become one of Australia’s leading scrapbooking experts.
She had no idea that one day, craft would become her saving grace.
In 2013, at 37 years old, Natalie noticed changes in her menstrual cycle. A fit and healthy mum of one, cancer was the last thing on her mind. But a large ovarian cyst required immediate surgery, and the pathology results changed everything.
“Our world just stopped. I had ovarian cancer,” Natalie said.
She underwent a radical abdominal hysterectomy and appendectomy, followed by six months of gruelling chemotherapy. Her family, friends and crafting community carried her through it, and as soon as treatment ended, she went straight back to teaching.
In late 2019, cancer-free and recovered, Natalie launched an online store alongside her teaching and craft fairs. When the pandemic hit, a backyard studio and online workshops helped the business take off, growing from $20,000 to just shy of $1 million in five years. Natalie May Scrapbooking now runs from a bricks and mortar store in Adelaide’s CBD, the only physical scrapbooking retail store left in South Australia.
But her real focus goes beyond paper.
Every workshop Natalie runs includes a conversation about ovarian cancer, its symptoms, and why women shouldn’t ignore them.
“I have an audience of women around Australia who have daughters, grand-daughters, sisters, aunties, so a key part of my tutorials is raising awareness for ovarian cancer,” she said.
Natalie now works with Flinders University and Adelaide University as a consumer advocate on their research teams, and has received emails from women who booked GP appointments to investigate symptoms after attending her workshops.
“I was so lucky that I listened to my body and caught the cancer at stage one, but that is extremely rare. Most women are diagnosed at stage four, and it’s too late,” she said.
Through an $8 add-to-cart donation on her website, Natalie has raised more than $30,000 for ovarian cancer research over 12 years.
“Something good had to come out of my experience, so I will spend all my days being an ambassador and trying to save other women.”
Ovarian cancer statistics
- Around 1,900 Australians are diagnosed with ovarian cancer annually
- The overall five year survival rate is 49%
- Approximately 1,064 lives are lost to ovarian cancer annually in Australia
- There is no early detection test for ovarian cancer, a pap or cervical smear does not detect it
- An estimated 10,000 Australian women and girls will lose their lives to ovarian cancer over the next 10 years
For more information on Natalie May Scrapbooking, visit nataliemay.com.au
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