Kempsey's Lawrence siblings prepare for annual bowel cancer fundraiser

She was only 14-years-old when her mother, Karen Lawrence was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer after undergoing emergency surgery.

Karen battled the disease for seven years and underwent chemotherapy treatments once a fortnight in Port Macquarie when the bowel cancer metastasised to her lungs after a short period of remission.

It was during this time in 2019 that Brooklyn and her siblings Keely, Sarah and Patrick banded together to raise money for Bowel Cancer Australia with a bake sale.

"We just had a really small bake sale," Brooklyn said.

"We probably sold out within two to three hours."

Since then the fundraiser has grown with last year's effort raising $10,000 and are hoping to meet that goal with the fundraiser at the Kempsey Netball Courts on Saturday, July 15.

The fundraising event isn't just to raise money for the cause but to give awareness to Australia's second deadliest cancer and break down misconceptions

"A lot of people think it's an old person's disease and it's not," Brooklyn said.

"People don't look for it because they are so young.

"That's one of our big things- you're not too young. You're never too young for that."

Karen was only 39-years-old when she was diagnosed but doctors told the family that the cancer had possibly been growing up to two years prior to the diagnosis.

"It is dangerous," Brooklyn said.

"If you can't treat it early enough, there's nothing you can do basically.

"We just want people to know what it is and if you've got the signs, go and get checked."

Karen continued to work full-time and play netball with her diagnosis but sadly died due to the cancer in November 2021.

The Lawrence siblings are hoping others will stay aware of the signs of bowel cancer with the motto 'sometimes life gets shit so check yours'.

"Some people would look at that and think it's a bit graphic but it's honest," Brooklyn said.

"You need people to go and do it."

This year's fundraising event will be occurring at the Kempsey Netball Courts on the corner of Belgrave and Sydney Street on Saturday, July 15.

The event will include kid's hair spraying and a bake sale as well as a raffle draw.

Residents can make an online donation, purchase raffle tickets on the day or make a purchase tickets in advance.

Previously the funds would exclusively go toward Bowel Cancer Australia but this year half of the cash donations will be given to the Port Macquarie Oncology Unit.

"We want to give half to Port Macquarie Oncology because then our local community can benefit a bit more," Brooklyn said.

"They have a really lovely team over there so it's just us wanting to give back to them."

Whilst helping their local residents, the Lawrence siblings have received plenty of support from the community.

Kempsey Toyota, Kempsey Nissan, Jacky Piper Industries, and McNeilly Lawyers are selling raffle tickets or accepting donations for the fundraiser.

The Kempsey Netball Association has continued its support for the event, and the Kempsey-Macleay RSL Club has already contributed $1,000 to the cause.

On top of the monetary support, earlier this year the four siblings were anonymously nominated for and won the Kempsey Australia Day Young Volunteer Award.

"We've had a lot of support," Brooklyn said.

"I guess a lot of people are really behind our message of you need to get checked."

Seeing the community rally behind the siblings has been a big help.

This will be their second year running the fundraiser without Karen who would often bake many of the goods they sold.

"Last year was hard because it was the first year without her," Brooklyn said.

"I've started cooking things already... and I've done a lot of the stuff out of Mum's recipe book.

"I think it's bittersweet because we're learning Mum's stuff on our own."

But Brooklyn said that she thinks her mum would be proud of her siblings.

"I think she'd be proud to know she'd raised kids like us who want to go to help people because Mum was like that," she said.

"After the shitty situation we've been in, we're not dwelling on it.

"We're just trying to help other people."

IN OTHER NEWS: