Michelle Mitchell is the principal at LJ Hooker Lismore and a founding committee member of cancer charity Jodie's Inspiration. Michelle spoke to the Lismore App about how a chance meeting with a billionaire property developer changed her life, her own battle with cancer and the big motivator that helped her get through it.

I was born and bred here. I always held jobs in and around town but more in a retail environment until my early 30s when I left Lismore with two small children after a marriage separation and went to the Gold Coast.

One of the first people I met there was Harry Triguboff. Soon after I arrived, one of my girlfriends and her husband moved up there and gave me some work doing the books and occasionally cleaning the units at a strata building they had bought. One day this older guy shuffled in in these beachy clothes and was like: "I'm here, I've got to sort some cleaning.” And I'm like: "Oh yeah, no worries. Let me just unlock the door for you." I was thinking, he was a bit elderly to be a cleaner but oh well.

So I got the mop and bucket and the broom, and he went: “No, no, I need someone to clean my unit.” So I went: “Oh, so sorry. I can do that for you. I've got a couple of hours this afternoon.” It turned out it wasn’t just an apartment that needed cleaning, it was the penthouse which included the top two floors. It took me and my friend all night.

Harry’s wife arrived the next day and wanted to meet me. He had gone away but had told her: “I want this girl to work for me.”

Harry made a huge, huge impact on my life. I was the first person that ever told him that if I was going to work for him I couldn’t start until I'd dropped my children at school and I had to be able to pick them up in the afternoon. He was a bit like: “Well, no one's ever said that to me before. Do you know who I am?” But that’s what I had to do. I didn’t have any family support there but we became part of his Gold Coast family. Such wonderful people. I'm still in contact with him today.

I was lucky enough to work at his penthouse at times and my kids would swim in his pool, which was like a 25 meter pool on the 40th floor. I worked in some of his developments at Sundale. I did some sales and from there I took a job at The Glades Golf, which is a big international company. I worked there and for Harry, which was a bit of a juggle.

My biggest client at the time was LJ Hooker and then they made an offer for me to come work for them. So I did about eight years in real estate on the Gold Coast with LJ Hooker.

One of the reasons I moved away in the first place was I didn't want to get divorced in Lismore and then just remarry someone I went to school with and get all caught up in that cycle.

What ended up happening is I met my now husband, Robert Menin, at Tweed Heads - and of course he's from Lismore. Robert’s brother Tony, who has sadly passed away, actually drove the wedding car for my first wedding. Small world.

We had a long distance relationship for 12 months and then me and the two kids moved home and I started working in sales here at LJ Hooker Lismore. That was seven years ago.

The kids didn’t like moving back. My daughter, Hannah, was only here for about 12 months before she moved to Melbourne. My son Alex transferred to Trinity and of course, I was the worst mother in the world because he was 15 and it was a really hard age and he only knew the Gold Coast. It turned out to be the best thing for him. He formed wonderful friendships. Trinity were amazing and he got 99.4 in his HSC and is now doing medicine in Melbourne.

Robert, Michelle, Alex and Hannah. PHOTO: Supplied.

It was five years ago while I was supporting one of my close friends, Jodie McRae, through breast cancer when I was diagnosed with breast cancer as well.

It was just by chance that we caught it. I had a friend here that needed to go to have a breast screening and needed a lift. While I was waiting for my friend, the receptionist said there had been a cancellation. Did I want to have one while I was already there? A week later I was going in for an operation with stage four aggressive breast cancer.

When I came out of the surgery, they told me that my lymph nodes were completely black and that meant the cancer was about five days off spreading which would have given me three months to live. So it was a real blessing. It was like someone was looking after me

It happened so quick, I didn't get time to think. Alex was doing his HSC and Hannah was going overseas on a holiday. Robert and I had just merged two families together and I had a job and I needed to pay school fees and we had mortgages. So I was just like: "Well, I'm just going to work. I'm just going to have this quick operation and I'm just going to work."

I came and told Reyna and Paul, who owned the company at the time, that I was going to have the surgery Thursday and I'd do my open houses Saturday. They were like: “No, why don't you at least take Saturday off?”

Then I just started this journey of chemotherapy and radiation. Along the way I had an allergic reaction to my second chemo and had a cardiac arrest. Beautiful. Just, like, bring it all on, knock me out.

It took nine months. I worked full time the whole time. I would come to work after my chemo on Thursday and then I'd take Monday and Tuesday off because they would usually be the bad days. When I had my radiation, I had it for six weeks every morning at 8am and then straight to work. Robert got his real estate license so he could do all my open homes on a Saturday so I could still work and do all the hard stuff during the week.

My actual thing was, I'm not going to die because I've just spent my whole life working really hard for my children and I'm not going to not see them grow up and follow their dreams. I'm not going to die. I am not going to miss out watching these guys fulfill their dreams. I've been there for the hard yards.

Then my doctor just went: “Yay, everything's great. You're cured. Just get back to normal life.” And I fell in a heap. It felt like I had a nervous breakdown. I slept for a month.

Michelle, on her first public outing after getting rid of her wig, with Alex and Robert. PHOTO: Supplied.

Then I went back really to supporting Jodie. She had been supporting me but as I got the all clear, she got her second lot of diagnoses.

When we lost her I found it really hard. I was one of the people caring for her in her last days and I really struggled with survivor guilt. It does exist. I would look at her and go, how come it's her and not me?

Michelle and Jodie. PHOTO: Supplied.

Being a founding committee member of Jodie's Inspiration has meant a lot to me. We work really hard and we love that charity and I think we've done some amazing things. It's a huge part of my life for a number of reasons.

Michelle at the Breast Cancer Network Australia 20th anniversary in Melbourne in 2018. PHOTO: Supplied.

Being part of Jodie’s Inspiration has helped me a lot, knowing I could give back. As far as Lismore goes, what we have on offer here in the hospital system is second to none. I didn't have to leave town for anything. To be part of a charity raising money so people could have the same experience I did has been amazing.

Robert’s family used to own the Menins supermarket and when they sold the business, he moved on to work for Bidvest and Streets Ice Cream and was a sales manager, which he loved, but he really loved real estate. So when the opportunity arose to buy LJ Hooker about three years ago, he was like: “Yeah, let's do it.” So we went, you know what? Why not? I love what I do. Clint McCarthy here is our partner and Robert left his job and joined us. We got married the same month as we bought the business.

Through my sickness Robert, my kids and a small circle of family and friends supported me. I wouldn’t be here without him.

So now we have a great team here. We like to have our hand in anything we can that helps the community. We are a team of 12 sales people, property management and admin and I love it. I love what I do. I love being able to do it in Lismore.

Alex, Michelle Robert and Hannah. PHOTO: Supplied.

My children are now both in Melbourne. Hannah's 26 and she's living the dream and working in her industry of website and design and just loving life and Alexander is 22 and in his fifth year of medicine currently working in the hospital full time. He's six foot five, with long blonde, bleached hair and a few piercings. Loving it, killing it. They're both following their dreams and that's all I could have wanted for my children and to be here to watch that happen makes me totally blessed.

I turned 50 last year and went, you know what? I came home from the Gold Coast with so much more experience and belief in myself and brought back these two amazing humans. I really feel proud that they've been allowed to live their life and be who they really are. And that doesn't happen for a lot of kids. It's been a journey and a ride and I've got a lot to be grateful for.