Brave mum’s cancer heartbreak: ‘I am letting my kids down’

A devoted mother of young sons has been rocked by a cruel brain cancer diagnosis, but all she wants is to make the most of the time she has left to create lasting memories for her beloved boys.

When mother of two Beth Elliott woke a few weeks ago with a pain in her right eye, she never expected to be diagnosed with aggressive brain cancer.

Now, the 37-year-old former insurance broker is scrambling to make the most of the time she has left with sons Lachlan, 5, and Harrison, 4.

“I don’t want to break their hearts, so let me play mum while I can,” said Ms Elliott, who has stage 3 glioblastoma with stage 4 markers.

“When I found out I thought, I’m screwed, because glioblastoma has a very low survival rate, and I’d seen my parents lose their cancer battles.”

Beth Elliott and sons Harrison and Lachlan Elliott in 2020. Picture: Romana Saeheng

Ms Elliott’s mother Gail died of ovarian cancer in 2016 and her father Ray of non-hodgkin’s lymphoma the following year.

On June 2, the Jimboomba mum had a 4cm tumour removed from her frontal right lobe, and is still having chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Beth Elliott after her June 2 brain surgery

“My time is limited so I have to choose whether I want quality over quantity,” Ms Elliott said.

“I might beat it but the chances of recurrence are high, and I don’t want my kids’ last memories of me as being debilitated or bloated or to have a seizure and leave in an ambulance and never come home again.

“It’s a shitty, shitty thing, because I have so much I want to do with them, and Lachlan has autism so I’m working with a child psychologist to help the kids understand.

“It’s cruel for everyone, but I don’t worry about me – I am OK with crying or being angry – but I am letting my kids down and I have no control over it.”

Less than 5 per cent of Australians with glioblastoma survive for five years or longer, according to research.

Friend Brodie Ryan said Ms Elliott was an amazing mother who did everything for her boys.

“Beth is one of the strongest people I know, but is literally in the fight of her life.”

Mrs Ryan and other friends from their 2001 graduating class of Lourdes Hill College have set up a fundraiser to assist with treatment costs and support for the young family.

Visit Ms Elliott’s My Cause page