By Alesha Capone
WHEN young Hillside resident Lauren Chamberlain was in hospital undergoing treatment for cancer, she was not fazed by the months of chemotherapy, blood transfusions, a lumbar puncture or MRI scan.
Instead, the plucky 11-year-old said the cuisine served up in the oncology ward was her biggest challenge when battling rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare muscle tumour which grew near her jaw.
“I just coped with it, I guess. The hardest part was the hospital food, they don’t have much variety,” Lauren said.
The Grade 5 student received a Highly Commended prize in the Cancer Council Victoria Arts Awards 2010, for her story, ‘The Journey of a Tree’.
The tree in the story battles the same illness Lauren recovered from, after months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy while staying at the Royal Children’s Hospital and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
After a scan in October, Lauren was given the “all clear”, much to the relief of her mother Sharon, father Craig, younger brother Adam and her friends and teachers at Parkwood Green Primary School.
“I used to not like it when I got funny looks from other kids. I try to smile at them,” Lauren, who has around 20 bandanas to wear since losing her hair, said.
“Mum hated it more than me. When I brushed it, big bits would come out.
“I collected the hair and made it into a wig for my teddy bear.
“The advice I would give other children in my situation is, ‘there is light at the end of the tunnel’”.
However, Mr Chamberlain said while battling cancer, his daughter was sometimes hospitalised in isolation with infections and temperatures of 38 degrees, after the drugs she was given lowered her immune system.
“It felt like a prison cell. You can’t get out. If you have stuff to do it’s okay, but at the start I felt isolated. But I did meet some nice people in hospital,” Lauren said.
The community banded together to help Lauren celebrate her recent recovery, with Darren Rapa from the Re-Creation gym in Caroline Springs sponsoring her “end of treatment” party.
“She’s amazing, she didn’t let things stop her,” Mrs Chamberlain said.
“They said she was made of steel, that was a doctor’s comment.”
Lauren, who hopes to become an actress, managed to attend school and extra-curricular drama classes “on and off” through her treatment.
Lauren thanked many people for helping her through the cancer, including her mum and dad, brother, grandparents, family friends, teachers, Camp Quality, Red Kite and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which will send her family on a trip to Disney World in Florida next year.
