"I was back playing rugby and was enjoying work and all seemed to be going good."
Then just months later the family were hit by more bad news and Jackson was told the cancer had returned on Daffodil Day 2015.
"We couldn't believe it, it just didn't seem real."
The then 19-year-old was whisked away once again into surgery and at the start of 2016 the situation escalated again.
His cancer was upped to stage four and it was at this point he went on to a clinical drug trial.
"Up until then it was cut it out, cut it out but now it had spread past the cut it out stage."
The start of the funded trial went well and it wasn't until the third scan that Jackson plateaued and eventually his cancer became progressive.
He was then able to change and go on to the funded drug Keytruda, where he was supposed to have four doses, but he never made it to the last one.
"I was pretty crook. I had a good solid headache for two weeks and the only time I noticed it wasn't there was when I was sleeping."
"I then started to be sick a lot and it got to the point where I couldn't walk around without an icecream container."
Jackson booked an MRI scan and by the time he went to have it he had to be wheeled in by his dad Simon to the hospital and all he wanted to do was "curl up in the fetal position".
They were told they wouldn't get the results back until the following morning but by 6.30pm the pair were sitting in front of a screen which showed Jackson had a brain tumour.
The family were back down to Wellington the next day where Jackson went into surgery.
"I bounced back pretty well from that as the tumour was on the surface so it was an easy one to get rid of."
However, just six weeks later Jackson's vision began to go blurry and he knew something else was up.
"The doctor asked me to put my hand over my good eye and look at the vision chart but I said to him what chart. He then put his hand up to my face and said how many fingers am I holding up and I said I can't even see your hand."
A new scan was taken and another brain tumour was shown but this time right near his optic nerve in the middle of his head.
This was to be a major operation and Jackson had to return to Wellington just weeks before Christmas.
"I spent Christmas on the couch that year and would just vomit. I was pretty crook and couldn't eat much, it wasn't a good time at all."
From September through to January Jackson wasn't having cancer fighting drugs as he was pulled off Keytruda. Mr Alexander said you could imagine what the cancer did.
It got so bad that Jackson in January went to the hospice, with his family preparing for him to die.
"I honestly thought this was the end, we are going downhill into the hospice and she's over but no he managed to pull through."
The only option available to keep Jackson alive was an unfunded drug Dabrafenib and Trametinib, which costs $17,700 a month. The family applied for funding from Pharmac and special circumstance funding from the Health Minister but were denied.
Family and friends have so far raised $124,000 to fund the drug but another $100,000 is needed so he can continue for at least another five months.
The drug won't cure him but buys him valuable time.
"They allow me to live a life. Before this I was on the couch sleeping and just to get up was a good effort."
He started the drug in February once the hospice stabilised him and within the first week what used to be golf ball sized tumours halved in size.
"It was incredible how instant the drug was."
Jackson turned 21 in June, which was a huge milestone considering his state back in January.
"I would never have made it here without these drugs and they are allowing me to experience things I never thought I would be able to."
"The other day I jumped out of a plane and just the other weekend I went snowboarding. While they continue to work I can keep living a normal life."
Mr Alexander said people reading this may be staggered at the price they were paying to keep him alive, but how much money do you put on a life.
"It now gets scary as we all have mortgages and things but we can't stop as its keeping our son alive."
Jackson will continue to fight and will continue to live a normal life for as long as he can on these drugs with his next scan due in October.
To follow Jackson's journey like his Facebook page "Save Jooky" and to donate put money into their account: 03-0779-0005218-000.
