Mitch was diagnosed in October 1998 with a brain tumour. He underwent numerous operations over the years at Westmead Children’s Hospital; his last operation was in July 2005 at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPA). When Mitch got sick he was very very ill, I remember how he lost so much weight and lost all of his hair. His hair eventually grew back but not all of it. It didn't grow back on the sides but he told everyone it was the new In thing.

"He loved being the centre of attention"

The first thing Mitch always asked after his operations was if he could play soccer. Soccer was his passion, he absolutely loved playing the game. He got better over time but Mitch wasn’t the same person after his experience with cancer; personally, I think this experience made all of us better people. We all have a different outlook on life (live life to the fullest and that kind of thing).

In late July 2005, Mitch got sick again out of blue. It was completely unexpected as he hadn’t needed any medical treatment for about 3 years. Mum took him to the hospital they did some scans and found out he had fluid on the brain. They told Mitch he would have to have a shunt put in to release the pressure. When they had suggested that years before, he was really against the idea because it meant

"he wouldn't be able to play soccer again"

Back then they managed to find an alternative way to release the fluid and he was fine. But this time he had no choice and had to have the shunt inserted. He was fine for a couple of days. Then suddenly Mitch couldn’t see, he could hardly walk or feed himself, and that’s when we all knew something was wrong.

The doctors kept on saying everything would be fine and it would just take time for him to recover, but I think even he knew something wasn't right. Mitch passed away suddenly on 3 August 2005. Recently we did a fundraiser in memory of Mitch called 'The Bald And The Beautiful' which included raffles, auctions and head shaves. It had a really big turn out from our community which was great.

A lot of people are willing to show their support when you're going or have gone through a cancer experience. Sometimes you just need to give them a way to do it.