Cherish’s story

When Cherish stopped eating, her mum Louise feared her young daughter may have been bullied about her weight, or developed an eating disorder.

Those two possibilities were frightening, but the reality was far worse, when doctors discovered a 10kg tumour was aggressively attacking Cherish’s young body.

They had visited a doctor in Hervey Bay after Cherish had woken her mum in the middle of the night, describing her pain and discomfort.

They were taken immediately to the emergency department at Hervey Bay Hospital. Cherish had scans, and Louise was told by doctors that her daughter had a germ cell tumour – it was stage 4 and was very aggressive.

“Not me! Not my daughter!”

“I felt like vomiting, I screamed and swore.”

Their family members rushed to the hospital to offer support, as Cherish and her mum were flown to Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane. “I went into denial,” Louise said.

Louise and Cherish held on to that hope – as Cherish went through numerous cycles of chemotherapy.  She had a central line put in and eventually had the tumour removed after it had shrunk to a safe level.

Being so far away from home was tough on Cherish, as was losing her beautiful long hair. Cherish stayed in hospital for two-and-a-half months straight at one period, had to live close to  Lady Cilento for about six months.

Cherish is now cancer-free but still has her central line until doctors are happy to remove it. She also has two other tumours, which are both cancer-free, but may have to be removed soon as a precaution.

It has been a long road for Cherish, but during hospital she has enjoyed programs funded by the Children’s Hospital Foundation, including a recent gig as a red carpet reporter at the Logies with the Juiced TV crew.

Cherish wants to be a TV or movie star and has plans to launch her own Cherry Lemonade business, even being mentored by Mark Boris.

Cherish is one of 19 ambassadors for the Woolworths Regional Wall Tokens campaign.

By purchasing a $2 wall token from now until the end of September, you are helping fund equipment and programs in your local hospital, which help families like Cherish’s through an emotional, stressful, and at times uncertain journey.

Woolworths Regional Wall Tokens is an opportunity to highlight some of the brave kids throughout Queensland and northern New South Wales, who you can help by purchasing a wall token.