Background
Shaw was born on 7 October 1966 in Perth. She was born with retinoblastoma, a malignant eye cancer, and had one eye removed as a baby and had radiotherapy in the other.
Shaw was born on 7 October 1966 in Perth. She was born with retinoblastoma, a malignant eye cancer, and had one eye removed as a baby and had radiotherapy in the other.
She became visually impaired due to congenital retinoblastoma (eye cancer) and lost her sight completely at the age of 33. She first represented Australia in cycling at the 2002 IPC World Championships. In 2008, Shaw was re-diagnosed with cancer.
She died of the disease in 2012.
She wrote two memoirs and several books for children and young adults. She was adopted as a baby along with three other children.
At the age of eight, she was transferred to a school for the blind. Shaw believed this had a negative impact on her life due to the strict nature of the school.
At the age of thirty three, she lost her sight totally.
In 2008, she was diagnosed with two cancers in four days, one of which was breast cancer. In 2010, she was told the chemotherapy treatment had failed and no other treatment was available. Shaw then drew up a bucket list which included a being a passenger on a motorbike, kayaking with dolphins in Monkey Mia and visiting Byron Bay retreat with her dog Sabah.
On 3 December 2012, she died after a long battle with cancer.
Shaw worked as a social worker for ten years until 2000. After losing her sight, Shaw published several books including autobiographies and young adult books
Her two autobiographies Beyond the Red Door (2004) and Bit of a Superhero (2012) discussed her life with cancer and blindness. She was also a motivational speaker.
After becoming totally blind in 2000, she took up tandem cycling after attending a Come and Try Day with the Tandem Association.
She was coached by Andrew Bludge and Darryl Benson.