A strong constitution and support from the Leukaemia Foundation is what helped Kenwick teenager Reif Saunders beat cancer according to his mother Jade.
The 15-year-old was diagnosed with leukaemia when he was seven and went into long-term remission in last December.
He recently shaved his head to raise funds for blood cancer research.
Ms Saunders said he was diagnosed with leukaemia after she noticed bruising on his body.
“We’d been at the beach for the weekend and he fell asleep on the way back and when he woke up his whole arm was bruised from where he had been leaning on it,” she said.
“My mum said it might be leukaemia and I told her not to be stupid but she convinced me to take him to the doctor anyway.
“I just went to the after hours in Armadale and we were told to take him to PMH and it was a whirlwind from there.”
She said Reif was diagnosed with leukaemia that night.
“I didn’t believe them for probably about a month,” she said.
Following the diagnosis Reif had to undergo more than three years of chemotherapy.
In that time he missed a lot of school but with the support of the Leukaemia Foundation and the Communicare Academy, where he attends school, he was able to keep up with his education. Reif said the support he and his family received after his diagnosis had inspired him to give back.
“When I was going through chemo, the Leukaemia Foundation helped my family out a lot and gave us heaps of support, so I wanted to do what I could to give back to the foundation that assists families when they are going through similar hardships,” he said.
“The Communicare Academy has been great so far.”
Reif was one of 10 Communicare students and teachers who volunteered to shave their head or facial hair or colour their hair, raising $1500.
Reif added another $500 to that total with help from family and friends.
