Marco Suarez fighting cancer after his dad Fab died from cancer | Camden Haven Courier

camdencourier.com.au · Feb 15, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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Marco Suarez shaved his head when his dad Fab had cancer treatment. Marco is now going through cancer himself. Picture suppliedWhen Marco Suarez's dad died from cancer, he began to dream of pursuing a career in medical science.Subscribe now for unlimited access. or signup to continue readingAll articles from our websiteThe digital version of Today's PaperAll other in your areaThe 18-year-old is more determined to follow that dream after being diagnosed with cancer himself."I've always had a love of science and wanted to help people where I can," Marco said.His selflessness is further evident in his approach to a GoFundMe created for him, titled "Marco's Fight".He plans to donate some of the money to Chris O'Brien Lifehouse's You Can Centre, where he is being treated for a rare and aggressive bone cancer called Ewing's sarcoma.The centre is a "haven of comfort" for young adults, aged 14 to 29, living with cancer.Marco, of Wyoming on the Central Coast, is not dwelling on his diagnosis."I'm just trying to stay positive and keep on keeping on," Marco said."I could let it keep me down, but what's the point of that?"His diagnosis emerged after hiking with his mum and uncle in New Zealand last year."He started complaining a couple of days later about soreness in his neck and shoulder," mum Ellen Suarez said."I could see a lump, so we went to the doctors. From there, they referred him to the cancer clinic and for scans."All this came about two days before Christmas."Ellen and Marco lost their husband and dad, Fab Suarez, in September 2023 to a rare form of leukaemia.When Marco's diagnosis was confirmed, Ellen thought "oh my god, not again"."To be honest, I had a bit of PTSD, having gone through two bone marrow transplants with Fab," she said."The more I thought about it, there were obviously things I needed to learn that I didn't learn the first time around."I'm taking six months off work to spend time with Marco. With Fab, I tried to work through it."Ellen said it was in her nature to think "there must be a reason for Marco to go through this"."Whether it's people he'll meet, or his ability to find a new path in his career," she said."For some people, religion is the way to go. I believe spirituality is important. For me, it's about finding that centre."It doesn't mean I'm not upset and that this doesn't absolutely stab me in the heart."Heather Bech, a friend of the family, started the fundraiser for Marco."My faith in Jesus teaches me that when someone is walking through suffering, we don't stand at a distance, we step in," Heather said."Loving people in practical ways is how I live out what I believe."Marco and Ellen were initially reluctant to agree to the fundraiser.But Marco, who finished his HSC last year, had planned to take a gap year to travel.So they agreed a fundraiser could go towards fulfilling that plan when he gets better."I've always wanted to go to central Europe, like Germany. The castles and history have always interested me."It's great to have something to look forward to."Doctors detected a 75-millimetre sarcoma, protruding from either side of Marco's humerus bone."We're so thankful it wasn't hidden. Unfortunately a lot of these cancers aren't found quickly," Ellen said."He's going through 17 cycles of chemo. After cycle six, they take him and rescan everything and look at how well it's been working."Then they'll determine what type of surgery he'll have."Ellen said the surgeons could "take a piece of the bone out and replace it, or remove the whole bone, irradiate it and put the bone back"."They can replace the bone with a rod. It all depends. They don't know yet what they'll do."