It was the only way she knew how to deal with the shock news that came just weeks after her own bleak diagnosis.
“I was just thinking, ‘are you serious!’ I just started laughing and then she started laughing and I said, ‘I’m so sorry, I feel terrible but this is just so random, what are the chances of this happening’.”
“I said, ‘Why are you trying to steal my thunder mum? I am the one with cancer, not you!”
“After that I went to my friend’s house and I had a little cry because I was so upset.”
Bethany, 17, was diagnosed in February, 2015, and her mum Mybritt Larsen in August the same year.
There had been no previous recorded cases of cancer in the family before then, says Bethany, who had the rare Rhabdomyosarcoma, a muscle cancer that is only found six times a year in Australia.
Not surprisingly, the seemingly endless rounds of chemo have taken a heavy physical toll on both.
But a positive Bethany says their love and sense of humour is helping them through.
“When mum is sick I look after her, and when I am sick she looks after me.”
Mybritt has a few more months left until she’s finished her treatment, but for Bethany, at least, the finish line is finally in sight.
The budding choreographer says her treatment has now given her a clearer picture of what is important in life.
“My appreciation for the little things has grown. I love waking up in the morning and feeling good. I used to sleep in until 11am in the morning and now I get up at 7am, have my breakfast and get out and do stuff,” says Bethany.
“It has changed my outlook and appreciation for things. All the novelty things that people want in life is just nothing to me.
“As long as I am healthy, I have friends and family around me, I have food and a roof over my head, I am really lucky.”
For the first time in months Bethany, who also had some eggs frozen in case her fertility was affected by the chemo, has started focusing on her future.
“My ultimate dream goal, I want to be a disney princess at Disneyland in Tokyo,” says Bethany, who has also started a GoFundMe page to help her get there.
“I have wanted to ever since I went to Japan in 2012 and I learnt that is actually a thing.”
“But I don’t think I am the sort of person who will stay in the one job forever. I want to do a million things. I want to be a police officer, I want to own my own business, I want to work in an ice-cream shop.
“It is almost over and I am so excited and I can’t wait.”
This story was originally published on The Carousel.
