Activates Construction

Tarah Hastie’s story is one of trials and tribulations, but ultimately, it is a story of joy and survival.

At age 27, Tarah whilst lying in bed, found a lump in her breast. At first, she was not worried as doctors over the years told her she had lumpy breasts, but she soon received the heart-breaking diagnosis that she had an aggressive breast cancer, which fed on the estrogen in her body.

“My doctor told me that I would need a mastectomy regardless of if the cancer had spread and that is when it really hit me,’ she said. ‘This could claim my life.” She said she immediately thought about her 18-month-old son Chester, and what this would mean for him.

Being so young and faced with such an enormous challenge, and with her future uncertain, Tarah began to write letters and recorded videos for Chester and her loving husband Adam. The courageous letters were to travel the stages of her son’s life, including his first day at school when she told Chester she would be ‘by his side watching over him.’

‘In the days leading up to my surgery, which was only three days later, I began drafting letters to my son and making videos for him and my husband to help him navigate raising our son alone, because it was a very touch and go situation,’ she said.

Tarah embarked on two years of chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and hormone therapy she eventually had her left breast removed and had a reconstruction on both.

Tarah has now been in remission for over 12 years. Tarah and Adam were overjoyed to conceive another child, 7 years after her diagnosis, a daughter named Valerie.

Tarah is an advocate of the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) and has been since 2012.

‘When I joined at the end of my diagnosed year the statistic was one in nine women would be diagnosed with breast cancer and now it is one in seven,’ she said. ‘It makes me happy knowing my children have a bright future, particularly when it comes to this disease that they’re possibly pre-disposed to.’

Activates Construction are committed to being a corporate partner to NBCF. We have pledged to donate $5,000 from the profits of the sale of every home to NBCF and encourage the selling agent to commit a further $2,500 after the settlement of the property. We are also heavily involved in fundraising through community events and raffles  and all our team members wear pink sponsored by Bisley workwear to raise awareness amongst trades on site and in the community.

Activates Construction renovate and build beautiful bespoke homes all over Brisbane’s inner northern suburbs.

The dynamic duo behind Activates are Tarah & Adam Hastie, who renovated their first home in Kedron back in 2005 and have been designing and building beautiful homes ever since. Since then, they have been involved in more than 50 builds and renovations.

As a Community Ambassador for the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Tarah knows firsthand of the excellent work the Foundation do, as do all members of the Activates team. In fact, you may recognise us in our bright pink work shirts worn on site in support of Tarah and her journey.