The former St Patrick’s College student was 22, had a partner and was more than halfway through a university degree in Melbourne.

So when the call came through on April Fools Day that she had been diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma, Ms McCormack was sure the news couldn’t be true. 

“It was the biggest shock of my life,” Ms McCormack said. 

“I thought I was healthy, I was fit, I was studying natural medicine so I had a good understanding of nutrition - I never thought that I could have a condition like that.”

Returning home to Launceston to stay with family while she completed chemotherapy, Ms McCormack found it difficult to find locally-based support groups, books or resources that catered for people in her age group. 

Searching for a way to process the ordeal, she began using a journal to log the ups and downs of battling cancer.

On Wednesday, the 25-year-old will return to Launceston to launch Cancer at 22 - a book comprising about 90 journal entries from her time in chemotherapy. 

“I just wrote things down for me to process it all, I never expected it would become what it is now.

“As the reflections grew I shared them with my support worker from the Lymphoma Foundation and she said there needs to be something like this available for other youth cancer patients because it's such a strange age to go through something like that - there’s lots of books that older people have written… but nothing (from young people).

“I would never in my wildest dreams have thought I would be a published author and I don’t think I’d ever write a book again, it was just a spur of the moment thing.”

Since being cleared of the disease in October 2014, the 25-year-old hasn’t looked back.

In September last year Ms McCormack defied predictions chemotherapy would end her chances of conceiving when she and partner Liam welcomed twins Grace and Ruby into the world.

Planning to pick up the final three semesters of her degree next year, Ms McCormack will spend the rest of 2016 juggling parenting with running a small business from her family’s home in outer East Melbourne, selling homemade lactation cookies to health shops and online stores.

“I’ve been in remission for about 18 months so ever since I got the all clear I haven’t had any issues at all.

“I still have to get regular checkups every three months to make sure I’m going fine but everything’s been really good.

“I’m very grateful that I’ve been through (being) unwell and having treatment because it made me a lot stronger and able to take on new challenges like having twin babies - it’s very challenging but it’s just been an amazing experience.”

Georgina McCormack’s Cancer at 22 book launch will take place at 6pm on Wednesday at Maggie’s Cafe in Launceston. 

For more information visit www.cancerat22.com