Claire found out she had bowel cancer for the second time after her fifth daughter was born, and is determined to raise awareness about the disease.
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Her family is holding a fundraising community day with different activities such as a jumping castle and face painting in Alpine later in June, and tickets have already sold out.
"One of the reasons we are creating the event is to create a special day for Claire surrounded by family and friends, and for people in the community who want to come and attend," said Claire's good friend Amy Lee.
The mother of five first discovered she had stage three cancer after her 30th birthday, and underwent major surgery and six months of chemotherapy.
She was then cleared of cancer and found out she was pregnant with her fifth child six months later.
Eight months after her child was born, the family discovered that it returned and spread, and is now incurable.
Mrs Lee said the event was a way to "take some pressure off" the family during a difficult time, and would give them the chance to "create special memories".
Although residents can no longer attend the event, they can still offer their support through the silent auction.
Prizes include vouchers from local businesses like the Burrawang Hotel, art, sports memorabilia, classes, blankets, and passes to the movies and zoo.
The family are thankful for the community's support and the prizes businesses have provided for the auction and event.
The auction can be found on airauctioneer.com.
June is also Bowel Cancer Australia's (BCA) awareness month with their Red Apple Day on June 15, which aims to educate people and raise funds for the charity.
In a post written by Claire and uploaded on the BCA Facebook page, she said that there was no history of bowel cancer in her family.
She was told her initial symptoms were "likely" to be from Chron's disease, due to her age.
"I hope my story helps others to make the choice to see their GP if they have symptoms instead of putting it off," the post said.
Her friend said "breaking that stigma" and emphasising its preventability were important parts of their initiative.
According to the BCA, bowel cancer is the second deadliest cancer in the country and one in 15 Australians will develop experience it during their lifetime.
An estimation of 293 people are diagnosed weekly with about 15,206 per year.
Of those cases, more than 1500 are people under the age of 50.
Around 70 per cent of those diagnosed do not have a family history, hereditary contribution or combination of both with bowel cancer.
Almost 99 per cent of all cases can be treated if detected early.
More information about bowel cancer can be found on the Bowel Cancer Australia website.
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Briannah Devlin
I like to write about arts, entertainment, any local reality tv leads, and property for the Southern Highland News and Goulburn Post, but also report on everything in between. If you have any tips, please send them to Briannah.Devlin@austcommunitymedia.com.au, or call 0439142204.
I like to write about arts, entertainment, any local reality tv leads, and property for the Southern Highland News and Goulburn Post, but also report on everything in between. If you have any tips, please send them to Briannah.Devlin@austcommunitymedia.com.au, or call 0439142204.
