By Danielle Kutchel
A cancer diagnosis turns your world upside down.
For Berwick residents Jade and Adam Jenkins, being told their five-year-old son Henry had Stage V Nephroblastoma (Wilms) in August 2020 was a massive shock.
Even after they visited the doctor to find out more about Henry’s illness, Jade said “cancer was the furthest thing from our minds”.
“Henry presented very well. Even when we took him to the GP and for an ultrasound, it didn’t cross our minds that he was about to be diagnosed with cancer.”
The diagnosis changed everything.
For much of the last 12 months, the family – including Henry’s two younger brothers – have been in and out of hospital as Henry undergoes extensive treatment including surgery and 21 rounds of chemotherapy.
The five-year-old has had to repeat his four-year-old kinder year but still attends when he can – and his prognosis is positive.
Jade said he’s shown remarkable resilience for someone so young.
“He’s quite amazing in that he just gets on with it.
“When you’re five you don’t really understand it; he knows cancer makes you sick and you need to go to the hospital and get better, but he doesn’t fully understand the extent of what that means.”
They’ve been lucky enough to receive support from My Room Children’s Cancer Charity, a volunteer-led organisation that helps families and patients get through the cancer journey.
“Henry had access to the dietician and physiotherapist and both of those are funded by My Room,” Jade said.
My Room has a goal of reaching a 100 per cent cure rate for childhood cancers.
This month, My Room will undertake one of its biggest fundraisers of the year, the 2021 Home for a Cure charity auction.
Satterley and Porter Davis Homes will donate a house and land package to the auction, with the funds raised going to My Room.
The single-storey, four-bedroom Porter Davis home is being built in Satterley’s Arcadia community, in the heart of Officer.
Proceeds from the house and land package will be donated during Channel 9’s popular My Room Telethon later this year.
Jack Homann, Satterley’s general manager of Victoria and Queensland said he was proud Satterley would be a central part of the auction for the fourth time.
“It goes without saying that the most important part is that we’re raising funds for an incredibly important cause,” he said.
Shaun Patterson, general manager sales and marketing at Porter Davis said the company was thrilled to be part of the auction.
“Being able to lend a helping hand to kids who need it most, while building a quality home in which someone can create a lifetime of cherished memories, made our decision to support this year’s Home for a Cure an easy one.”
The home will include almost $100,000 worth of upgrades and inclusions including high-quality fixtures, fittings and appliances from Porter Davis Homes.
Adriatic Furniture has donated $42,000 worth of home furnishings, Fleming’s has donated $15,000 worth of landscaping, Bunnings will provide $5000 worth of outdoor furnishings and Salt and Pepper will offer $5000 worth of homewares.
The successful bidder will also receive a 12-month subscription to The Age and a 24-month subscription to Stan.
My Room’s chairman Maurizio Marcocci said the proceeds from the home auction would go towards supporting the organisation’s four funding pillars: family support, medical equipment, clinical care, research and clinical trials.
“It’s only with meaningful donations from our major partnerships like Porter Davis Homes, Satterley and Nine, that we can make a greater impact to funding research and clinical trials that could lead us to our goal of a 100 per cent cure rate,” Mr Marcocci said.
Jade said the support her family received from My Room helped get them through an extraordinarily difficult time.
“They’re a quiet background support doing really good things for childhood cancer.
“I certainly think their help is highly beneficial not just to my family, but many families.
“They 100 per cent helped us along the way.”
The Home for a Cure charity auction will take place later this year.
Further details will be announced in the coming weeks.
To be kept up to date on the build, partner announcements and the auction, please visit homeforacure.com.au
