Boy wins his cancer battle, but his mum loses hers

Harry Boaz with Buzz Lightyear. Photo/Geoff Sloan

A little boy who won his battle with cancer and his mother, who lost hers, will be celebrated when the Rolleston Relay for Life is held next month.

Although he is only four, cancer has had a massive impact on Harry Boaz's life.

Just 24 hours after his birth, Harry underwent surgery to remove a tumour the size of his head. At 22-months-old his mother Heather Boaz died of breast cancer. She had neglected her own health to focus on her unborn baby, Harry, after a scan revealed the tumour at the base of his spine.

Harry's own cancer returned and after Mrs Boaz's death he spent almost a year fighting the disease, including going through chemotherapy.

A team called Harry's Heroes will take part in the Relay for Life event at Brookside Park, April 1 and 2.

The event is a Cancer Society fundraiser which raises awareness, celebrates people who have fought cancer and remembers those who have lost their lives to the disease.

It is held at multiple locations around the country and involves team members walking, jogging or running a relay, family friendly activities and entertainment for those not on the track, and a candlelit closing ceremony.

This will be the third Relay for Life for the Harry's Heroes team, with the first having taken part when Harry was still fighting the disease.

The team began when Harry's father Andrew Boaz, a teacher at Rolleston School, was approached by a parent about the idea and staff and pupils at the school also joined.

Mr Boaz said the support had meant a lot, particularly when he had to rush Harry, who was struggling to cope with the disease and chemotherapy, to hospital during the first year that the team took part.

"I remember driving past the reserve and seeing it all lit up. Just knowing that people were there showing support meant a lot on one of the worst nights," Mr Boaz said.

"It was raining but there were still people at the park."

Harry's Heroes will wear rainbow uniforms this year, as that is Harry's favourite 'colour', and will use his treasured Buzz Lightyear toy, from the movie Toy Story, as a baton. There are about 40 people in the team.

Mr Boaz, Harry and his other son Flynn, 7, will take part.

•To register a Relay for Life team go to www.relayforlife.org.nz