Danielle Ozolins never felt very comfortable asking for help.

A terminal pancreatic cancer diagnosis has certainly changed her perspective on this.

The 49-year-old Sydney mum now feels more loved and supported than ever before after being told she had just months to live.

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Ozolins told 9news.com.au her life-changing diagnosis began with a "dull ache" in her side.

She initially ignored the symptom.

After all, her job in marketing was incredibly busy and she had a family to look after.

Six months later, the ache returned.

"Then over the weeks, it got a bit worse, and I was like, 'OK, I've got to go to the doctor'," Ozolins said.

"I woke up yellow with jaundice.

"So I got sent straight to emergency and went to the public hospital and it turned out that it was a blocked bile duct."

A routine day surgery to have her gallbladder removed turned into a long day at the hospital and some unwelcome news: it was a tumour and it was cancerous.

Ozolins' husband Greg has just flown out on a surfing trip on a remote Indonesian island, her mum was away and her daughter was doing her HSC.

The timing couldn't have been worse – but as Ozolins attested, nobody is ever prepared for cancer.

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