3 Members Battling Cancer

Hi family, friends new and old of our Family, 

First of all I'd just like to say on behalf of our family a heartfelt thank you to everyone thus far for all your love , prayers and support during this emotional time. With many of you offering support in different ways and many of you suggesting we start this page. 

Our aim is to help support the family who are here taking turns supporting those going through their battles with cancer. Putting lives on hold to be with loved ones offering care and support during treatments and palitive care.

We are a proud and close family who wouldn't normally ask for help, but I am reaching out on their behalf. Although this post is long please take a moment to read into the background which has lead us to this plea. 

Cancer is no stranger to our family , with our treasured wee cherub Nana Joans memorial on the 16th Dec who lost her battle 7yrs ago.

Now Sadly the past 12 months  has been a wild roller coaster ride of emotions for our family with our Mum, Dad and also our youngest brother all being diagnosed with cancer.

Last year Mum was having tests and they found two tumours  in her leg and  patuatory gland which the doctors removed and thankfully they came back benign.
While Mum was in hospital and had suffered a collapsed lung after a biopsy she was then diagnosed with lung cancer. It was very upsetting to watch her struggle to breath.
Docters want to remove part of one lung and for her to have treatment on the other. She is naturally scared of going under again after the collapse of her lung last time.
So in the mean time Mum is  battling on with her lung cancer doing all her natural meds and taking care of the rest of the family as she has always done.

In July Dad was rushed to hospital with a series of TIA's (mini strokes) which were pretty scary, after a little investigation and a number of tests Dad was scanned and the doctors found all the arteries in his legs are blocked which caused the problem and could lead to a serious stroke.
Oh but wait there is more, Dad has now also been diagnosed with lung cancer – Stage 4 ,
on top of that news he gets phuemonia and struggles to breath.
Dad is also suffering with diabetes,diabetic neuropathy which effects his hands and feet something terrible.
Dad also suffers arteriosclerosis.

Our parents are trying to stay strong and positive. I think they live in denial sometimes hoping to beat it like they did Dads prostate cancer 6yrs ago. 
Our parents are still so young at 61 & 63 .They have lots to live for yet , and grandbabies to enjoy.


( Written by Lils )

Now comes the kicker just recently while on deployment our brother got seriously ill with a disease called Miller Fisher Syndrome which attacks the nerves in your body, it affected his sight, stomach and his arms and legs, basically his body was being destroyed from the inside, so while all this was going on his back decided it didn’t wanna support him anymore and gave up, so he was bed bound and very ill  in a foreign country and alone.
The defence sent him home for immunoglobulin treatment for the disease for which seems to be under control for now apart from my brother still having problems with his sight.

While in hospital for treatment he had a full body scan for his back and neck which come back that he has multiple disc issues and the spine of an 80 year old man, but he is only 34. Our poor brother can't seen to get a break he has already had multiple back surgeries, knee and shoulder operations and now this. 

Three days after having that treatment he collapsed on the floor and was rushed back to hospital. Where they did a scan to check his back, neck and head that's when they found a chordoma tumor on the base of his skull which at the time the doctor said needed further investigation. Chordoma is a very rare cancer with around only 1 in a million getting it. Rik was back in surgery getting to get it cut out.

On the Tuesday when the results came back its cancer !! So as you can imagine we are all pretty gutted.
The surgeon and professor tell us he needs 5 to 6 weeks of radiation treatment to kill any cells that may have escaped during the procedure, but they also tells us it is not offered in Australia.

So if our brother wants the best chance of beating this horrible disease he has to travel to America or Switzerland for proton therapy which will be done over ten weeks.

At this stage we have no idea of the time frame or about expenses but what we aim to do is to be able to send a family member with him for support and care during treatment , while the rest of us take turns and being here to help with Mum and Dads treatments and care.


Our brother is one of the most amazing humans I know .He has always helped others his whole life , he's furnished family& friends homes after break ups, he’s assisted people financially when he's been able to.
When we were younger he bought many people into our home where our parents would feed and put through schooling and formals etc. It's something Mum & Dad have done for many years and for many people. And they all would give the shirt off their back or their  last dollar of it was going to help someone in need.

Rik works so hard and you never ever hear him complain or put on the poor me act, he just gets on with life no matter what. He was offered a driver from work to get him to and from his appointments but because he lives so far out from work he didnt want to put his work team out as they are short staffed, he amazes me everyday, with what he's going through and he still thinks about others.

So as much as I hate asking for stuff we could do with your help. If you can’t help financially your prayers are also so appreciated.
We would also like to say Thank you so much to the family and friends that have already reached out, your love and support means so much to us all.
Love Karalee

So that's our story ... 
We are a loving close family who support each other through thick and thin. Cancer has really taken a toll on us all. We all want to be close and support those going through their battles but due to being scattered from Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra and with work commitments it isn't always possible and creates more stress on Mum, Dad and Rik, and leaves us all feeling helpless.

And although Rik is now got his own battle ahead he still wants to be there and spend as much quality time as possible with Mum & Dad as well.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this and even if you can't donate please share this page and keep us in your prayers. 

Thank you  Aroha nui
from the Karena Family XxOo