Derek Lawson (left), sons Josh (rear), 15, and Sam (front), 9, who is undergoing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, with his mum Helen and sister Georgia, 12. Photo / Supplied
Helen Lawson had just celebrated two years post chemo with a party - when fate dealt another blow.
It's been a rough few years for the Havelock North family of five whose history of illness plays out like a cruel tale.
Mrs Lawson is two years clear of breast cancer
after being diagnosed in 2012, and undergoing treatment. Prior to that her husband Derek was found to have pre-cancerous cells and had two separate mastectomy operations as a precaution against male breast cancer - the first in 1995 then again in 2009. But nothing could have prepared them for when 9-year-old son Sam's backache turned out to be Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.
"He woke up with a sore back and initially we thought he had hurt it playing - but there was nothing physically wrong with his back so we went to the doctor - they thought it might be appendicitis, but when he went to hospital he had blood tests and his platelets had dropped off," Mrs Lawson said.
Further tests at Starship in Auckland confirmed the worst.
