Fresh blow for man who beat cancer as child

Heath Rattey.

Doctors tell survivor that radiation therapy when he was 6 has caused brain tumours.

A man who battled and beat cancer as a child has been told he has two tumours growing in his brain - caused by radiation therapy that earlier saved his life.

Heath Rattey, 33, was just 6 when he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. He underwent chemotherapy and radiation therapy for three years until he went into remission.

He has been cancer-free ever since, so after more than 20 years the North Shore man and his family were shocked when he suffered a seizure in June and tests showed there were two large growths in his brain.

Brother Brett Rattey said further radiation therapy or chemo was out of the question as medical experts warned it could lead to the tumours growing at a more rapid rate.

Family and friends are now rallying to raise $150,000 for their brother and colleague to have the growths removed by a top surgeon in Sydney.

They have set up Trade Me auctions and a fundraising page on Facebook, as well as a page on the Givealittle website, which can be found here.

Brett Rattey said: "It's quite a lot of money, but when it's somebody's life hanging in the balance, money is really not important - it's just trying to find a way of getting it."

He said his older brother - who he also called his best friend - was no longer able to work and was keeping positive about the situation.

"As you can imagine, you're obviously shocked when you're told something like this and a million thoughts go through your mind. He's handling it the best that he can. It's a bit rough, but he's a strong person."

Starship paediatric oncologist Dr Scott Macfarlane said that although it was somewhat rare to have a second cancer after surviving the disease as a child, it was still possible. "Unfortunately it is well described and there are some parts of the treatment for childhood cancer that predispose to getting a cancer in adulthood."

Cancer numbers
• In 2011 there were 21,050 new cases of cancer registered in NZ.
•52.5% of those cases were male.
•57% of all new cancers registered this year were people aged 65 and over.
•In people aged 0-24 years, the most common cancer was leukaemia for both males and females.
•Cancer is the leading cause of death in NZ, accounting for 29.4% of all deaths.
Source: Ministry of Health and Cancer Society

On the web
www.givealittle.co.nz