I was 12 years old when my parents sat me and my brothers down after school. Mum said something like, “I’ve been to the doctor and they think I have cancer. We’re not sure what’s going to happen, but I start treatment right away.”

We lived in Tasmania and Mum had to fly to Melbourne for treatment. Dad tried to go with her as much as he could, and we flew to visit her sometimes too. When we stayed home for school, our nan and pop would look after us. It was a really hectic and intense time.

I remember feeling distraught. Not knowing what was going to happen was hard. And as you might imagine, as a 12-year-old boy, I didn’t really know how to process those feelings.

You can imagine how devastated I felt when Mum passed.

It was June 2, seven days before her 39th birthday. She’d been in a coma for several weeks and we had to make the incredibly hard decision to let her go. I still remember the nurses standing outside the door, crying with us as we turned off the life support and said our final goodbyes.

But Canteen helped me through it all.

I particularly remember this one program called Good Grief. I got a message not long after my mum passed with an opportunity to attend that program. As a shy and very sad 13-year-old, I didn’t want to go, but I thought Mum would have wanted me to, so I did.

I’m so glad I did. I met heaps of people and made amazing bonds with them. I learned so many skills and really enjoyed it all. I learned how to talk about and process my feelings of grief and sadness – and I learned that I wasn’t alone. I learned to cherish and value the memories of my mum and all that she taught me.