Caring mum needs support

EXTRA MILE: Kerianne Strachan, left, with her son Cam Armishaw, who has stage four Hodgkins lymphoma.

Kerianne Strachan has risen to the challenges of raising a son with cerebral palsy and losing the father of her children.

Now, with another son battling Hodgkin's lymphoma, the Canterbury mother still says her glass is half full.

"I'm a pretty positive person. You have got to do what you have got to do," Strachan said.

Her day starts at 8am when her first job is to give Cam, 16, his morning injection as part of his cancer treatment. She then helps get her 15-year-old son, Leath, who has cerebral palsy, out of bed, dressed and fed.

Life has changed a lot for Strachan in the past few years.

The father of her two sons died in an accident in March 2010, and Cam was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in August this year.

"That came as a huge surprise," she said.

"He was just your average teenager - he loved playing rugby, hanging out with his mates and his girlfriend of two years, Alicia, and was working part time at McDonalds, saving for a car."

A lump on Cam's neck caused alarm. A doctor initially said it was just acne but then came the "puffy face", which led to further investigations.

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Caring mum needs support