Natasha refused to pause her life, even through cancer

When Natasha Bwembya enrolled in her Master of Public Health, she was not sitting in a lecture theatre or logging in from home. She was in a hospital bed.

Just weeks earlier, in January 2024, she had been diagnosed with leukaemia. Newly married and working as a registered nurse, her life shifted almost overnight from caring for patients to becoming one.

“One day you’re the nurse, the next day you’re the patient,” she says. “And that changes everything about how you see healthcare.”

When everything changed

Hospitalised for two months, Natasha found herself navigating a system she had spent years working in. But this time, it was deeply personal.

Instead of stepping away from her goals, she leaned into them.

“I actually started my degree while I was in hospital,” she says.

Studying was not a way to stay busy for Natasha. It was a way to make sense of what she was experiencing.

As she underwent treatment, she began to notice gaps she had not fully seen before, even as a healthcare professional.

“I started seeing the differences in how care is given,” she says. “Cultural differences, access to services, whether someone has Medicare or not. Those things really affect how people experience healthcare.”

A journey from Zambia to Australia

Born in Zambia, Natasha moved to Australia at 18 to pursue nursing, driven by a long-standing desire to care for others. With most of her family still overseas, she built a life in a new country, grounded in resilience and independence.

That same resilience would carry her through one of the most difficult periods of her life.

Her own experience as both a migrant and a patient sharpened her understanding of healthcare inequality.

“If I didn’t have access to the healthcare system here, my story could have been very different,” she says. “In some places, people don’t get treatment in time. They don’t even get the chance.”

Natasha with her husband at the graduation ceremony.

Finding purpose in public health

It was this realisation that drew her deeper into public health, particularly the social systems that shape who gets access to care and who does not.

“That’s what public health is really about,” she says. “Looking at the bigger picture and asking how we can make healthcare more accessible for everyone.”

Balancing full-time study with cancer treatment was, at times, overwhelming.

“There were definitely challenging moments, especially at the beginning,” she says. “You’re trying to figure out treatment, deadlines, everything all at once.”

Studying through treatment

Over time, she found her rhythm, starting assignments early, planning around chemotherapy sessions, and staying in close communication with her lecturers.

“The support I received was incredible,” she says. “They were so understanding and accommodating. That made it possible for me to keep going.”

At home, her husband became her constant source of strength.

“He reminded me why I started,” she says. “When you’re going through something like that, people can look at you with pity. But my story isn’t about that. It’s about resilience.”

Now, having graduated with distinction, Natasha sees her journey not just as something she endured, but something that reshaped her completely.

“I’m a lot more empathetic now,” she says. “I understand what patients are going through in a way I never could before.”

That perspective is already guiding her work.

A message to others

Based in Perth, Natasha now works as both a practice nurse and a grants officer at a multicultural women’s health organisation, supporting migrant and refugee communities.

Her work focuses on improving access to care, building health literacy, and supporting people who, like her, have had to navigate unfamiliar systems.

“I’m able to combine my nursing background with public health,” she says. “It means I can support people not just clinically, but in a broader way.”

Graduating with a distinction remains one of her proudest achievements.

“To be able to say I did this while fighting for my life, that means everything,” she says.

“Your situation doesn’t determine your future,” she says. “What you’re going through right now doesn’t define what you can achieve.”

She hopes her story encourages others to keep going, even when things feel uncertain.

“There’s beauty in everyone’s story,” she says. “Mine is about resilience, and I hope people can take something from that.”

For those facing illness or hardship, her message is simple.

“There’s light at the end of the tunnel,” she says. “You just have to hold on long enough to get there.”

Natasha’s journey began in a hospital room, at a time filled with uncertainty.

It has led her to a place of purpose, where her experience is no longer just her own, but something she is using to make a difference in the lives of others.