Teen battles rare cancer and chooses hope as doctors say there is nothing they can do

A staunch and stoic 19-year-old is determined to hold onto hope and his dreams of a farm full of Ford Falcons by beating the cancer doctors told him will take his life within two years.

Jack Clement. Picture: Supplied.

A 19-year-old apprentice mechanic is in the fight of his life against a rare advanced cancer but you would not know it from his calm and collected manner.

Six weeks ago a doctor told Jack Clement that stage 4 Uveal Metastatic Melanoma had been detected in his liver and even with treatment he had at most two years left.

From a St Vincent’s hospital bed in eastern Sydney, where he was undergoing immunotherapy to prolong his life, Jack described his situation with typical understatement.

“I’m OK, the first few weeks were quite difficult, at a young age it’s a lot to take in,” he said.

“You’ve just got to keep pushing, keep fighting.”

His verdict on suffering a rare type of cancer at such a young age?

“Unlucky, I ‘spose,” he said.

(L-R) Jack's girlfriend Ariana Fox, eight-year-old sister Amelia and mother Nicola. Picture: Supplied.

The first sign of trouble was in Jack’s right eye at age 15.

“When I was in class I thought there was something in my eye at first,” he said.

“My vision was very blurred, it still is to this day.

“No one could tell me what was wrong for maybe a week but then I went to a specialist and they figured out it was a melanoma that had popped out my retina.”

Although the retina was repaired with laser surgery Jack said the cancer still pops it out “every now and again.”

Melanomas in the eye are rare and Jack likely suffered it because he has another rarity, his left eye is hazel and his right is brown, which means it has more cells that can be affected by UV light.

“I used to do a lot of surfing, every day in the sun,” Jack said, having grown up in the Sydney beachside suburb of Clovelly.

Jack Clement hard at work at St Peters Auto. Picture: Supplied.

Jack’s father Edward Clement said he couldn’t be “more proud” of how Jack has reacted to the devastating diagnosis.

After they were told that there was nothing doctors could do Mr Clement walked out of the office with son and told him there was still hope.

“You’ve been brought up to not quit. You’ve been brought up to fight and stay strong,” he told Jack.

Jack replied that he was going to go on living like he is beating the cancer.

“We are not going to have any regrets, we are just going to get out of bed every day in a good mood and just love life,” were the resolutions the pair made together.

Jack’s girlfriend Ariana is a high school sweetheart, with the couple together over three years.

She has been to all of Jack’s appointments and is constantly at his hospital bedside, which forced her to give up job as a preschool teacher and as well as her apartment to move in with Jack, who lives with his mother and eight-year-old sister.

Ariana described Jack as “a very goal-oriented and giving person”.

“He doesn’t really put himself first, he is very caring.” she said.

Jack Clement (sitting on cab giving thumbs up) out with mates and girlfriend Ariana (sitting middle front). Picture: Supplied.

Jack is in his third year and final year of being an apprentice mechanic, which he said was his ideal job.

“I’ve always loved cars ever since I was in nappies,” he said.

Jack’s dream is to buy a farm and build a big garage to host a fleet of Ford Falcons.

Mechanic Spiros Georgiou, who supervises Jack’s apprenticeship at St Peters Auto in St Peters, said the terrible news of the diagnosis had shocked all Jack’s workmates.

“We told Jack ‘you take as much time off work and you do what you have to do and there is always a job here for you no matter what’,” Mr Georgiou said.

“Jack is dedicated, loved what he was doing, always willing to help, even when it was time to go home, he would stay to give us a hand, a very happy chap, we are like family.

“No one should go through what he is going through, being a 19-year-old full of life, having his whole life ahead of him, kids and family, it’s sad.”

A GoFundMe has been organised by friend James Stokes to help Jack while he cannot work and faces steep medical costs.

Only three days after being created the page had raised over half its $40,000 target.

Following his overnight stay in St Vincent’s Jack plans to pop in at work to “just say hi to all the boys”.

“As you are aware my time may be limited, my time may not be, you just have to enjoy every day,” he said.

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Originally published as Teen battles rare cancer and chooses hope as doctors say there is nothing they can do