Lachie's Story - A Guest Post for CanTeen

“When you’re 13 and have just started high school you don’t think about your mum dying – you don’t even consider it.

I found out my Mum had cancer the day of team soccer photos last year. Mum was late and I was waiting at home in my soccer clothes. When I got in the car I could tell she’d been crying. We started driving and she burst into tears. I didn’t know what was happening and automatically started crying because mum was crying. I asked her ‘what’s wrong’ and she didn’t want to tell me. When we arrived at soccer she said ‘I might have breast cancer’. Everything went quiet. I felt like my heart stopped. I didn’t want to get out of the car. It had been just me and Mum all my life, as my parents split up before I was born. How could I possibly live without her?  

I still went to the soccer photos and had the photo taken, but I wasn’t thinking about soccer just about mum. I felt scared because I didn’t know what was going to happen next. You can see in the soccer photo that I have red eyes because I’d been crying. I’ll never forget that day.

The hardest thing about mum’s cancer was the possibility that she could die. I didn’t want to lose her. I thought I’d be with her forever and ever and to realise that might not happen and for the rest of my life I’d be without mum was the scariest thing ever. 

The other thing that was hard was that mum couldn’t be at my soccer games any more. When she’s there she cheers so loudly I can hear her from the other side of the field. So to not have her there was upsetting. She did make it for my semi final- though. She came to the game with all of her drains still in, trying to walk, which was painful because the drains moved in and out with every step. She sat down and cheered as hard as she could. It was one of the best games I played.

I’m very grateful for CanTeen. Once they picked me up from my house and we went to Treetops. I would never have dreamed of going somewhere like that, I had so much fun. The people at CanTeen have generous hearts and they genuinely want to help.”

Each year in Australia about 18,000 12-24 year-olds are confronted with a cancer diagnosis – whether it is their own or that of a parent, brother or sister. CanTeen is the only National charity dedicated to helping these young people fight cancer, no matter what their cancer experience. 

CanTeen’s largest annual fundraiser National Bandanna Day is coming up this year on Friday October 26th. By buying and wearing a CanTeen bandanna on National Bandanna Day you can show young people, like Lachie, that you support their fight against cancer, and that you will not let cancer be the boss of them.

For more information visit www.bandannaday.com.au