A volunteer shares her story about supporting Daffodil Day

When Nellie Gunathilake’s father fell ill, there was few the migrant family could turn to for help. But the Cancer Council was there. The Pasco Vale woman writes of how it helped and the importance of supporting Daffodil Day.

Nellie Gunathilake lost her father to liver cancer. Picture: Ellen Smith

My dad is my best friend.

He was the strongest, most positive man in my life and, like most “daddy’s little girls”, he is my hero.

When I was 18, my father was battling cancer and, for once in my life, I wished I could have been his hero.

Of the many memories I have with my father, I fondly remember countless afternoons spent at Coburg Lake.

All the times my dad would push me on the swing as I squealed, “Higher, higher.”

Volunteers will be out for Daffodil Day on August 23.

I felt like I could touch the sky from each of his pushes. He meant the world to me and he always made me feel like I could reach for the stars.

In January of 2017, my dad was diagnosed with stage four terminal liver cancer and, in early June that year, he passed away.

It was a soul-crushing process to watch the once super active man rapidly become bed-bound in pain.

As my parents had moved to Melbourne from Sri Lanka in 1997, it was a difficult ordeal to go through without our family around for support and comfort.

However, there was a silver lining; or should I say, a yellow lining in our dark cloud.

The work done by the Cancer Council played a major role in caring for my father.

Through my experiences in 2017, I nurtured a habit of volunteering, participating and hosting fundraisers for the Cancer Council.

This was not only to pay homage to my father, but in the hope that this little bit that I do would go a long way to alleviating the suffering of another cancer patient.

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With Daffodil Day coming up on Friday, I urge the wonderful community of Moreland that I have grown up in to stop for a moment and support the lovely volunteers in yellow.

Every donation, big or small, goes a long way in helping families affected by cancer and for the future of cancer prevention.

By helping the Cancer Council help the community at large, we can all be heroes; and that’s a wish come true.

On Friday, volunteers will sell pins and other material to raise money for the Cancer Council.