Help Support 20-year-old Taine Scott Through Cancer Treatment

Kia ora koutou,

Some of you, especially whānau/mob, may know about Taine’s circumstances already. For anyone who doesn’t, here’s a little of his story:

Taine is our son/brother/grandson/nephew/great-nephew/cousin/friend. We’ve set up this account for anyone who is able to offer some financial support to him as he goes through cancer treatment. Any amount, large or small, will be greatly appreciated. We have a large whānau/mob, so we wanted to see if we could pool our resources to offer him some support.

Taine was born & raised in the small town of Tumut in New South Wales, Australia. Tumut is the meeting place for Wiradjuri, Ngungawal & Wolgalu Aboriginal tribes. Taine is a proud Wiradjuri & Ngungawal man. He also has New Zealand lineage – his father’s line is from Heretaunga in NZ.

Taine has been working hard since he left school at age 18, to make positive strides in his life & build a bright future. This hasn’t been easy but Taine is very determined. With positive influences such as his strong indigenous grandparents whom he unfortunately lost as a child, the support & encouragement of his loving mother, & the ongoing love & support of his Kiwi/Aussie grandparents, he’s developed into an admirable man, persevering with schooling himself through year 12, deciding to live without negative influences such as alcohol & substances in his life, & establishing a lovely relationship with his partner Bridee.

Taine trained, & has been working as, a Correctional Officer, since January 2020. He has hopes this career will lead him into a mentoring role for other indigenous young people whose life paths have taken them into conflict with the law. In October 2020 Taine moved out of home for the first time, when he & his partner Bridee, set up a flat together.

Early this year Taine noticed a lump on the side of his neck. He didn’t take too much notice initially, but when it started to grow & was occasionally painful, he realised it was time for a check-up. His GP sent him for a CT scan, which lead to an ultrasound, then further CT scans. A punch biopsy followed which confirmed abnormal cells, & on the 28th of April 2021, Taine had surgery to remove the lump on his neck & the lymph node it was inhabiting. This was sent away for testing, & on the 13th of May 2021 Taine was diagnosed with early stage Hodgkins Lymphoma. This is a form of blood cancer affecting the cells that develop in the bone marrow & mature in the lymphatic system - a body system that plays a vital role in our immune response. Having this cancer lowers Taine’s immunity, making him more susceptible to infection than the average person. Chemotherapy on top of that, further lowers his resistance to colds, flu or any other infections he may be exposed to. We are currently living with COVID-19, so Taine is at high risk & has to be super careful. He wears a mask everywhere.

Taine is currently undergoing chemotherapy which consists of 4 different drugs given via a drip every fortnight – taking about 3 to 4 hours per session. Currently Taine’s white blood cell count is very low, meaning his immunity is lowered, so his medical team need to monitor & administer his treatment around this. He’s feeling pretty sick. Yet through all of this, Taine has a fantastic attitude - keeping positive & determined. He has big dreams for the future.

He has to continue to work to be able to pay rent & bills. He also says that he enjoys working as much as he can, as it keeps his mind off his condition & treatment. His employers are as supportive as they can be – trying to keep him confined to areas where he’s exposed to less people, etc. But when you’re feeling unwell, it’s tough feeling like you have to go to work, & to be worrying about the future. We really want to support Taine so that he has a little less worry, & can take a rest when he needs to. We want him to concentrate on his treatment & recovery, & beating this thing!

Taine is due to turn 21 on the 24th of July too. Being in the midst of treatment isn’t the most fun way to spend your 21st, so it would be great to help him feel loved & celebrated, & maybe he can just do something nice for himself & Bridee.

When we asked Taine if he was okay with us sharing a bit about his story, he replied “I’m happy to share my story as I’m the future. I will be able to raise awareness for this cancer. So nothing is off limits.” What an awesome attitude! He’s an inspiration, & we’ll all benefit from seeing Taine’s great qualities emerge free of illness. Please help us to support our deserving bro/son/cuz on this journey, & to reach his potential.