CanTeen Member Stories

Get inspired by members who have met the challenge of living with cancer head-on.

  • Alexander O'Connor

    Alexander O'Connor

    I'm Alexander O'Connor, 24 years old and am the current President of the CanTeen Wellington Branch. I was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1991 when I was just 4 years old.

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  • Amanda Beaton

    Amanda Beaton

    Hi, my name is Amanda Beaton, I'm 24 years old and I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in October 2008.

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  • Ashley Stewart

    Ashley Stewart

    My name is Ashley Stewart. I'm 23 years old.  On 6 August 2007, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer.

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  • Jess Mackie

    Jess Mackie

    Throughout the beginning of my childhood, I grew up the oldest of three, now there is just me and my brother. 

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  • Paige O'Shea

    Paige O'Shea

    My name is Paige O'Shea, I'm 18 and became a member of CanTeen when I was 13 years old and was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2005.   

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  • Haley Thomas

    Haley Thomas

    It all started in April 2009 when I fell off a scooter. After a month I realised there was a small lump on one of my ribs.

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  • Chris Hakkaart

    Chris Hakkaart

    Hey, my name is Chris Hakkaart and I'm 20 years old. I became a member of CanTeen when I was 13 after my sister was diagnosed with Lymphoblastic Leukemia.  

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  • Louise Abey

    Louise Abey

    Hello my name is Louise; I'm 20 years old, and a sibling member of CanTeen.

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  • Rachel Allan

    Rachel Allan

    My name is Rachel Allan, I'm 18 and I currently hold the position of President within the Canterbury/West Coast Branch of CanTeen. I lost my brother to cancer on 5 January 2010.

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  • Anna Hocquard

    Anna Hocquard

    Hey there, my name is Anna Hocquard and I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2007.

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  • Wayne Cherry

    Wayne Cherry

    Hi, my name is Wayne Cherry. I was diagnosed with T Cell Lymphoma on Valentine's Day 2008.  Before my diagnosis I was really fit and active, I was a top motocross competitor and enjoyed running and swimming with my friends.  Suddenly I could barely walk up a flight of stairs.

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  • Andrew Wood

    Andrew Wood

    I was diagnosed with testicular cancer when I was 20 years old - that's when CanTeen became apart of my life.  Cancer was the best thing that happened to me because I became a CanTeen member!

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  • Daniel Leigh

    Daniel Leigh

    Daniel first noted something was different with his leg when he was biking to school and found a lump on his leg. As time progressed, he found it difficult to bike and also Daniel developed a limp.

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  • Munrith Singh

    Munrith Singh

    Hi! I'm Munrith Singh and I am 19 yrs old.  Presently, I am a committee member of CanTeen. The reason to why I opted for a role in the committee was merely because I wanted to show my appreciation by being more involved in every aspect that I can be of assistance.

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  • Aeronwy Cording

    My name is Aeronwy Cording, and I am a History, Social Studies and English teacher from Christchurch.  To people who have only just met me, I am a happy and bubbly individual who is passionate about her job, who loves her family (and her pet cat) and who is ready for any challenge that life has to throw at her.

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  • Tammy

    Hi, my name is Tammy, my brother and I we live in Tauranga. I am 15 years of age and my brother Hayden is 20. We got involved in CanTeen when our older brother Glendon was diagnosed with liver cancer in 1998.

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  • Rachel Orr

    My name is Rachel Orr. I am 22 years old and in February 2009 my then 19-year-old brother was diagnosed with a rare type of sarcoma of the bone called Ewing's Sarcoma.

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  • Gina Iggo

    It was just like every other Christmas, except that my brother, Ben, had a really bad cough. We spent Christmas at the beach, thinking the fresh air would be good for him. It was. He just didn't get any better. We decided to spend the New Year at home. Ben had been getting sicker and sicker. He was finding it very difficult to breathe. 

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  • Amy Stewart

    Back in 2001 I was diagnosed with a Posterior Fossa Pilotic Astryoctoma( brain tumour). At the time I was only 12 years old- I wasn't fully aware too much of what cancer is actually about. I had only just heard about adults having it. So it came as quite of a shock for both me and my family.

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  • Aodhan Hamilton

    My name is Aodhan Hamilton, I am 17 and I was diagnosed with a brain tumour at the age of six, I was given just two months to live after I was diagnosed. I have had radiotherapy, multiple surgeries and a lot of rehabilitation. As an effect of the brain tumour, radiotherapy and surgeries, I now have a physical disability; I am now alive, well and very grateful.

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  • Danielle Russell

    Hi my name is Danielle. I'm 21 years old and have done two years in a Bachelor of Early Years Teaching Degree. I was born with a rare brain tumour called a Germinoma which has affected all my hormones. It took until my 21st birthday to finally be diagnosed with cancer.

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  • Danielle Thomas

    My name is Danielle Thomas and in August 2007 I was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer, where I had a 6x3cm tumor, and was 16 years old and year 12 at school.

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  • Samuel Gwynn

    Cancer had an early impact on my life when I was diagnosed with a brain tumour (astrocytoma) at four years of age, I sometimes wonder how different life may have been without cancer.

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  • Jami Orchard

    My journey begins in November 2009. I was in my last year at high school and exams were finally over. Summer holidays were literally around the corner, but I wasn't going on holiday like everyone else. I was moving to Mt Maunganui, Tauranga where I'd scored a fulltime job at Credit Union North so I could pay for my studies in 2010. All was going well...

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  • Neil Sandford

    I had been having headaches for a week as well as getting light headed.  Being a male, I told myself to harden up, it's just a headache. I didn't do anything about it until my partner dragged me down to the doctors.  We went in to see them and the doctors couldn't see of find anything wrong with me.  He said we should do some blood tests to be safe.

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  • Olivia Benefield

    I found a lump in the side of my neck when I fell off my horse and hurt my shoulder. Mum took me to the doctor a day or two later, and then he sent me to Base for tests. I had a CT scan and blood tests over a couple of days. From there they sent me to Starship to get the lump ot for a biopsy. We were told a couple of days later that I had Hodgkins Lymphoma, cancer of the lymph nodes.

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  • Paula Oliver

    When told that you have cancer, a lot of people would think that their life was over. I have to admit that's what I thought when they told me. My perception of cancer did not comprise a good ending. I thought dying was the only outcome. I soon learned how close I was. I also soon learned that I would spend the next sixteen months fighting the biggest battle that I will ever face in my life. The cancerous brain tumour attached to my brain stem very nearly killed me on several occasions...

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