Mai Home Run sat down to have a korero with fighter Leaton to chat about his journey battling cancer.
Leaton's story:
At just 16 years old, Leaton was diagnosed with stage four nasopharyngeal carcinoma, an incredibly rare form of head and neck cancer.
While his friends were all out enjoying life, he could not move and also struggled to hold food down.
All he could do during that time was lay in bed, undergo treatment and throw up. He didn't have any energy or motivation to do anything.
He later joined Canteen recreational programmed to overcome FOMO amongst friends. He attended Canteen's therapeutic programme which helps rangatahi learn strategies to cope with grief, loss and change.
Watch the video above to learn more about his battle and journey.
If you know anyone aged 13-24 battling cancer, Canteen is there to help navigate through all the tough stuff to come out stronger on the other side.
They run peer events where one gets to connect with other rangatahi who understand what they are going through. They also provide a wide range of free support services as they battle cancer.
Canteen is a community led by rangatahi for rangatahi.
Check out canteen.org.nz for more info, or give them a call at 0800 Canteen to get in touch.
