"Having cancer sucks," admits radiography student Cameron "Cam" Scerri.
Yet faced with a rare, stage-four sarcoma, the 29-year-old is responding with defiant optimism.
The Bega Valley local was scheduled to begin a five-week medical imaging placement in 2026, but is instead undergoing chemotherapy to manage the aggressive disease.
"Even though it's an unfortunate situation, and having cancer sucks, it's brought me closer to a lot of people and made me realise I do have a lot of friends out there and that people do care," Cam told the Bega District News.
"There's a lot of research that shows that being positive and having the right attitude can actually make a difference to getting better.
"The current attitude I have is that I don't want to spend the time I've got by being sad, upset or angry. I want to enjoy the time I've got and appreciate what I do have."
Raised in the Bega Valley from the age of seven, Cam shared his youth on the NSW Far South Coast with a close-knit family including his mum Tracy, dad Kevin, and younger brothers Jeremy and Ethan.
Between clocking hours as a committee member, coach, and high school coordinator at the Merimbula Sharks basketball club, Cam became a familiar face in the region, often helping customers pick out movies at his family's former Network Video store.
After moving to Canberra to pursue his studies during the pandemic, Cam was scheduled to spend 2026 learning how to diagnose patients through a five-week medical imaging placement.
However, his focus shifted after he noticed a persistent lump on the side of his body.
"I had a lump on my hip for a couple of months and didn't think much of it, because it wasn't that big," Cam recalled.
He assumed it was just a "weird, deep bruise" from a sports injury.
But by March 2026, the lump had grown significantly to the "size of a tennis ball", so Cam went to his GP, who referred him for immediate tests.
His mum,Tracy, said Cam was sent straight off for an MRI - "they didn't even wait for the doctor's results" - to the best specialist in Sydney for his type of cancer.
"They knew what it was, but they didn't know what subtype it was. There are 80 different subtypes of that one, because it's so rare," she said.
A PET scan located other areas of spread, and doctors performed a biopsy to determine the exact strain of the sarcoma.
At that point, the cancer had reached his lung, thyroid and a lymph node.
"We were going, 'Hurry up'," Tracy recalled. "We were freaking out, because it's very aggressive too, apparently."
Cam began chemotherapy on Friday, July 10, for the Ewing-like round cell sarcoma, a cancer that develops in the body's connective tissues, including muscles, fat, cartilage, blood vessels, and bone.
While the treatment would not cure it, the goal was to stall its progression and reduce the primary tumour enough for doctors to operate.
"He gets a week, then he goes back on July 24 and has five full straight days of chemo. Five hours of chemo per day," his mother said.
"Normally, I think some people go one day a fortnight. He'll be doing chemo for the rest of his life because it will not stop growing. It will just pop out somewhere, so he'll have to constantly have scans and things like that.
"He's in very strong spirits. That's the thing with Cameron. He's very strong. He's always been through a lot, so he's learnt to be strong," Tracy said.
Despite the gravity of the prognosis, the naturally curious Cam said he felt a bit like his "own little guinea pig".
He credited his health science studies for giving him a unique edge in processing his own situation.
"When I looked at my MRIs and X-rays, I could read them a bit better, perhaps that's why I'm coping a bit more because I kind of have a background," Cam said.
"I know radiography is something I definitely want to do, so once I recover and I'm feeling better, I definitely want to get back to my studies because I'm already missing it."
Cam is using his diagnosis to raise awareness and has a vital piece of advice for others: get symptoms checked immediately.
"I had my issue with my hip and I kind of ignored it, and other people might be in a similar situation," he said.
"So if we can spread some awareness to get people to go to the doctor, it's a positive to come out of my experience."
Tracy agreed, stressing that men need to be particularly vigilant.
"I know a lot of people that thought they were having indigestion, but were having a heart attack," she said.
"You've got to check things like that.
"People should be aware of little things like your lumps and bumps, because people just think women get them, like breast cancer, but males get them just like anyone else."
To support Cameron Scerri with his ongoing medical costs and treatment journey, you can donate to his GoFundMe campaign here.
