Former Olympian and professional hockey player, Fiona Boyce, served as Solaris Cancer Care’s Red Sky Ride Ambassador in 2015.
Born in Perth, 27 year old Fiona realised her love for the sport when she began joining in with her older brother’s minkey hockey sessions at about 4 years of age.
As a result of her experiences playing sport at an elite level, Fiona is a passionate advocate for acknowledging the importance of teamwork and a positive group culture.
She chose to become Solaris Cancer Care’s Red Sky Ride 2015 ambassador after her battle with Stage 2B Hodgkins Lymphoma. The athlete said being Solaris Cancer Care’s 2015 Red Sky Ambassador provided her with the opportunity to give back after receiving so much care and support from the Foundation.
Diagnosed only four months after retiring from the Hockeyroos to start her law career, Fiona completed chemotherapy in January 2014 and has been cleared of cancer.
Aiming to promote Solaris Cancer Care services to raise awareness and funds, Fiona also wanted to help the riders understand how much their efforts helped people like herself.
We spoke to this inspirational woman about the sport that she loves, her cancer experience, and her visions for the future in December 2014.
Fiona explained that the choice to represent her country at the highest possible level was a no brainer.
“I chose to play for Australia because I loved the travel, mateship, challenge and satisfaction out of constantly finding new ways to improve. It was such a privilege to represent Australia in a sport that I love,” she said.
When asked what she believed were the necessary traits of an elite sportsperson, she replied;
“You need to be extremely driven and enjoy being challenged and questioned. It is not an easy thing to do but it is very rewarding.”
Her first game for the Hockeyroos was in July, 2009, at only 22 years old. During this time frame, Fiona attended the University of Notre Dame where she studied Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Commerce. The gruelling training and match schedule for hockey had to be juggled with her studies, a feat she managed successfully.
Now back to working part time as a solicitor at Herbert Smith Freehills, Fiona said that looking back to her treatment and the 6 month period afterwards, her regular visits to the Solaris Cancer Care centre at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital provided a great source of support and made a significant difference to her wellbeing.
Fiona said that her diagnosis stopped her from being such a perfectionist, and this change in mindset allowed her to appreciate that her best is more than good enough.
“It made me stop and assess what I really want to be doing and how I want to live my life,” she said.
Solaris Cancer Care would like to thank Fiona for her support and efforts in bringing attention to the services and programs that the Foundation provides to the cancer community of WA.
Article from The West Australian
Giving Back After Cancer Fight
Fiona Boyce seemed to have it all early last year, poised for a law career after retiring at 25 from the game that took her to the London Olympics.
But within four months of starting work, the former Hockeyroo’s world was upended when small lumps in her neck were diagnosed as a rare form of cancer.
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Media and Images published by The West Australian on 6 December 2014
