Bunbury lights the night for cancer

After facing a personal challenge with leukaemia, a Bunbury family is encouraging people to attend a fundraiser tomorrow to help the Leukaemia Foundation.

Bunbury mother Coby Davies spoke to the _South Western Times _about her son Seth's battle with the disease ahead of the Light the Night event tomorrow at the Bunbury and Districts Power Boat Club.

The event involves people walking with lanterns to raise money to support patients and their families, improve treatments and find cures.

Mrs Davies said when nine-year-old Seth was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in April last year, it was a tough period for the family.

"We are an active family and we had the trailer packed for an adventure but then we got word that he was sick - at the time we just thought it was a bad cold," she said.

"We had to move to Perth to live at the Ronald McDonald House and Seth was basically bedridden for 12 months while he was doing treatment.

"There were so many different injections and treatments and I remember at one point he had 100 needles over a two-month period."

Mrs Davies said Seth's young age made the ordeal even more difficult.

"There are therapists that explain what's happening and slowly introduce it to him and although he didn't know exactly what was happening, he knew it was bad," she said.

Mrs Davies said Seth was doing better now and was in remission.

"Our family tries to take each day as it comes and keep going," she said.

"But Seth is still a cheeky boy and the doctors and nurses had fun with him."

Mrs Davies said the family members would do their best to make it to the Light the Night event but Seth required treatment in Perth tomorrow.

"We want to come back to Bunbury for it but we are encouraging people to come along and support the Leukaemia Foundation because we pray someone can come up with a miracle to help cure the disease," she said.

"The money that is raised at the event definitely helps families.

"It helped us because we had a mortgage to pay and it helped us with fuel, which makes a huge difference."