Family is ripped apart as mother is given devastating cancer diagnosis after her two children died within four months of each other
- Lee White was diagnosed with cancer after losing two children to the disease
- Her son Ashley and daughter Samantha passed away just under five years ago
- ‘Yes I certainly didn’t think we’d be going down this road again,’ Ms White said
- Ms White keeps motivated to fight her illness through her daughter, Becky
A Victorian family has been torn apart after two children died from breast cancer – before their mother was given the earth-shattering news she has the same disease.
Lee White was diagnosed with stage three cancer on July 2 after finding a lump on her breast, which brought up painful memories of watching two of her children fight the disease just under five years ago.
The Mernda woman lost her son Ashley and daughter Samantha to cancer within a four-month period from December 23 2014 to April 5 2015.
The 42-year-old is enduring a six-month bout of chemotherapy at The Northern Hospital in Epping, with Ms White and her husband Mick reliving the same uncertainty they faced with their children before.
Lee White and her family. Lee was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer earlier this year and had previously dealt with the disease when her son Ashley and dauhgter Samantha passed away from the disease just under five years ago. (Pictured left to right: Ashley, Mick, Samantha, Lee and Becky)
‘I certainly didn’t think we’d be going down this road again,’ Ms White told Daily Mail Australia.
The family have a tragic history with the deadly disease, with Ashley first succumbing to stomach cancer at age 22 after battling Leukaemia as an infant and having his bowel removed at 18.
Their daughter Samantha was diagnosed with brain cancer at just eight years old and suffered from a reoccurring tumour which took her life at 17.
Ms White said her diagnosis had been a struggle for her maternal instincts.
She has also been unable to work as a result of her treatment.
‘I’m so used to looking after others I’m not one to ask for help, so I struggle with it a lot,’ she said.
Lee White (pictured with her husband Mick) was diagnosed with breast cancer after finding a lump on her breast in the shower
Ms White and her husband suffer from Lynch Syndrome, a condition that increases the risk of cancer and led to Ashley and Samantha being born with mutated genes.
Ashley and Samantha also suffered from constitutional mismatch repair deficiency syndrome, which is a hereditary condition that can produce cancerous material.
The couple have a second daughter Becky, who serves as the rock in the family, and keeps Ms White motivated to keep fighting against her illness.
‘If it wasn’t for her we’d have no reason to get up everyday,’ Ms White said. ‘She is the most kind hearted, loving person you’ll ever meet.
‘She has lost so much, her older brother and then younger sister, she brings some normality to our lives.
‘We love her dearly we would be totally lost without her.’
Ms White (pictured) is enduring a six-month bout of chemotherapy at The Northern Hospital in Epping and is getting strength and motivation from her daughter Becky to keep fighting her illness