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SAM Lindsay knows what it's like to have to put up a fight.
Five years ago, the Maiden Gully mother-of-two was diagnosed with a sarcoma tumor on her thigh.
She underwent radiation and had surgery to remove the tumor. What followed was four years of teaching her body how to walk again, with many hours spent doing physio and hydrotherapy sessions.
It was a long road to recovery but Ms Lindsay pushed through.
By that stage life seemed to be getting back on track for the Lindsay family – until late last year when doctors found a secondary tumor, this time at the back of her knee.
Ms Lindsay said the second diagnosis was even more emotional than the first.
"The (diagnosis) was a lot harder to take the second time around. I fought so hard the first time, I just thought it would never happen again," she said.
"I keep thinking, 'how am I going to get through this?' The last one took so long. It was a tough time."
Ms Lindsay said it was the people around her who gave her the strength to fight - including her husband Mat and children six-year-old Ayvah and four-year-old Evan.
"Everybody has been amazing. Family, friends, the community – I am so lucky to live in Bendigo," she said.
Michelle Leerson, a friend of Ms Lindsay, said she admired her resilience and will to fight.
"She is happy to smile and chat away with you and doesn't let it get her down when she's with you. She is a great mum and very caring," she said.
Ms Lindsay's mother Myrle Byers said her daughter had a strong support network around her.
"We are a close family and we just deal with it. It is what it is. You have to deal with what you have, not what you don't have. She has two beautiful children and a lovely husband," she said.
"I am really proud of her. Often there are times when you don't know what she is dealing with because she doesn't complain about the day-to-day pain. She is definitely a fighter."
Since receiving the diagnosis, Ms Lindsay has almost completed another course of radiation.
She said she won't know if she requires another surgery for a few weeks.
"I just have to be thankful for the things I've got. I don't know what the future holds but you have to be hopeful," she said.