Sister's cancer fight inspires

Phoebe Hawthorne, now aged 12, was diagnosed with a type of blood cancer when she was 2 years old.

Uni student steps up for CanTeen after accompanying sibling on long battle to get well

Seeing his little sister lose her hair and tubes being plugged into her tiny body ultimately pushed one Auckland student to go on to help other youngsters fighting the same battle.

Grant Hawthorne, 20, was just 10 years old when his youngest sister Phoebe, then 2 years old, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a type of blood cancer.

"All of her blood wasn't working properly, so she had to be pumped full of new stuff. Then chemotherapy - her skin went white and you could see her veins through her skin," Mr Hawthorne said.

"All her hair fell out and Phoebe had lovely brown hair. They had to stick tubes and things into her. It wasn't fun seeing your little sister go through that."

As a child, it was sometimes difficult to understand what was going on and he admitted initially blaming himself for Phoebe's illness.

Grant Hawthorne.

"For a while, I thought that it was my fault that Phoebe had cancer. It's just when you don't understand, you just think: 'My gosh, my little sister's really sick - did I have something to do with it'?

"When you're that age, or any age, no one ever expects that will happen to them and it was really scary. When you're told about cancer, as a kid, you only hear about it when it kills people - and that's what we thought. But mum and dad quickly pointed out that that's not necessarily what's going to happen."

For three years, Phoebe continued with cancer-fighting treatments and the family, from Wellington, rallied to work around her hospital appointments.

When she was 5 years old she went into remission and the Hawthornes were told their little girl was officially cleared of cancer.

Mr Hawthorne, who is studying geology at the University of Auckland, has been involved with charity CanTeen since he was 13.

Today the charity holds its annual fundraising appeal, this year dubbed the CanTeen Never Alone Appeal - encouraging the idea that young people with cancer should never feel alone.

Mr Hawthorne said his involvement with the charity had let him help other young Kiwis going through what his family went through.

"That's what's good about CanTeen - everybody's got that understanding. Everyone's story is different, but you know what it's been like. We've had similar experiences and we know how to look out for each other."

He said he enjoyed being able to help other young people. "I can't believe [Phoebe's] 12 now - she's just a blessing and the light of the family. She's just a cool little kid."

• To donate, visit www.neveralone.co.nz or www.canteen.org.nz