Leo's Story

I am 12 years old now and in Year 7, but I was diagnosed with Retinoblastoma in my left eye when I was 2. It was removed in an operation and left me completely blind in that eye, but the operation was successful and the cancer has not spread since then.

I don't think having cancer has impacted on me physically that much, partly because I was so young at the time, and also because I think my body adjusted to the loss of my eye very well. My parents also played ball sports with me as well to strengthen my vision.

I did experience bullying at my old school though, and in the end I decided to change schools.  My new classmates are a lot more sympathetic and understanding about my eye, which is great.

I started with CanTeen this year, and I am very happy that I joined. I have the chance to talk about my experiences, and to get support from staff and friends there. The camps I have been on were really fun and made me feel more independent.

The best thing about CanTeen is probably the other people around you who can help you. I think CanTeen provides support that sometimes kids don't have but they desperately need. I don't have any brothers or sisters who I can talk to, so CanTeen really helps me because we all have something in common. Without CanTeen I probably wouldn't be as comfortable talking about cancer as I am now.

Bandanna Day was how I first found out about CanTeen, and probably one of the reasons I joined. At my old school some kids volunteered, and they were handing out bandannas and we bought them. I had no idea what it was until I looked at the bandanna closely and it said "cancer support" and I thought, oh, cool.  Then my Mum talked about it and asked me if I wanted to join, so I just said, sure.