When 12-year-old Spencer Farley was complaining of knee pain, his mother, Lou, took him to the physio, who suspected he might have torn his ACL.
Nothing could have prepared the Berkeley Vale mother for the truth.
Spencer was booked in for an MRI and, thinking it would be a simple procedure, Farley sent her son off with her brother.
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“Then they rang me and said we need to put dye in and I thought, ‘You don’t do that for a normal MRI … something’s not sitting right with me’,” she told 7NEWS.com.au.
Farley was right.
Later that afternoon, the physio and her GP rang to say they had found a lump.
Tests at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead confirmed it was cancer.
“I was struggling to cope with the fact that maybe he needs knee surgery or a knee reconstruction and then they used the word ‘cancer’ and I was like, ‘No, no, it’s just a sore knee’,” Farley said.
That was just the beginning of the bad news.
Spencer was also suffering a cough and a chest X-ray confirmed there was a lesion in his lungs.
“I thought I could handle the tumour in the knee, I’d digested that 24 hours before, but the lesion on the lung … that just broke me completely,” Farley said.
Doctors are now working to determine the type of cancer Spencer has and, from there, will start treatment.
Two weeks on from the diagnosis, Spencer and his family are focusing on the positives and making sure the “feisty redhead” keeps his sense of humour — although it has not been without its challenges.
“He’s always a happy-go-lucky, loving kid,” Farley said.
“He’s had his moments where he’s hating the world … but we crack a joke, we laugh and we cry and we have to just get on with it.
“So, he’s trying to remain really positive and upbeat, but it’s hard.
“He’s a 12-year-old boy who’s used to running around every afternoon playing sport and now he’s been stuck in bed the last two weeks.”
Farley has taken indefinite leave from work as a teacher’s aide to support Spencer, while husband Rob keeps the household income afloat.
Farley is thankful for the family’s incredible support system, as well as a fundraiser started to support them as Spencer prepares to undergo treatment.
“The village that’s shown up for our family at the moment … I have no words,” she said.
“I can’t even look at (the GoFundMe) because it makes me cry every time.”
It’s a reflection of just how loved young Spencer is.
“I know he’s my son, but he would give anything to help anyone,” Farley said.
“He’s a bloody good kid.”
Without her community’s support, Farley would be “a heap on the floor”.
“I’ll happily give the world to everyone but I don’t ever accept help,” she said.
“And this has been a big thing for me to say, ‘Yes, please, can you cook me dinner? Yes, please. Can you pick my kid up’.
“I’m very grateful and it’s amazing who comes out when the news isn’t good.
“You can really work out who your who your village is and who will support you.”
