Me and my two older brothers were the first to know. It was like the ground fell out from underneath me.

"I had great support from family and friends."

From then on it was regular visits to hospitals and check ups but as the cancer progressed and spread, Dad had to go to a hospice. Once again my life changed, I didn’t know how I was going to feel without my Dad at home.

Dad was at the hospice for about 7 months and then on Valentines Day 2004 he took his last breath and for the third time my life changed violently and its never felt the same. I still have support but people forget and people move on and I feel like I can’t, I still want to talk to him, about him at least to my mother but sometimes I see her so happy and I don’t want to ruin that.

"Things still feel raw."

So now it is 15 months on and things are still feeling raw but being a CanTeen member has had a huge impact on how I deal with things. It really helps to see other people dealing with the same things that I am and it's heaps of fun to catch up with friends.

I’ve learnt that people can always have time for you. I've also learnt how understanding people really are.