Imohgen Alo rang the bell at John Hunter Children's Hospital on Friday to mark the end of her cancer treatment.
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The NSW Lake Macquarie region resident was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma, a blood cancer, at age 10 in 2024.
Now 12, she said "I still don't think it has hit me what I did for the last two years".
She was grateful for having "the best team at John Hunter to treat this".
Imohgen has big dreams.
"I want to continue with my sport, make the Olympics for rugby, play NRLW and hopefully become an oncology nurse so I can help kids go through their journey."
She was diagnosed after a golf ball-sized lump appeared at the top of her chest.
Further testing revealed a large mass in her chest the size of her father's fist.
Her dad Ray Alo, a Samoan who grew up in New Zealand, has big hands.
Mr Alo said the diagnosis "happened so quickly".
"I know a lot of people describe it as like being in quicksand," he said.
"You fear the worst automatically."
When she was diagnosed, Imohgen and her family were scheduled to leave the next day for a state touch football tournament at Dubbo in NSW's Central West.
"When we broke the news to her, her response was 'can I not play football?'," Mr Alo said.
"That's how she took it - not 'am I going to die or lose my hair'. She wanted to play rugby that bad.
"She loves rugby union, league and touch footy that much, that was at the forefront of her mind."
Mr Alo added that his daughter "kicked the end of the bed" and ordered everyone out of her hospital room.
Imohgen had a port implanted in her chest for intense chemotherapy treatment over eight months.
"In between, she was having tablets and we were having to give her injections," her mum Stevie Alo said.
After this, she had maintenance treatment that involved daily tablets.
Mr Alo said the staff at John Hunter, in Newcastle NSW, were "all amazing".
"They instilled confidence in us as parents. Their approach was very direct," he said.
"They didn't sugarcoat anything. They were very honest about the process."
Imohgen plays representative rugby union for Hunter Wildfires.
"Throughout her treatment, she was able to get selected for the under-12 Wildfires team," Mr Alo said.
"She was only at about 65 per cent body strength."
She was selected for the under-14 team this year and accepted into Hunter Sports High, where she started year 7 this year.
Mrs Alo said her daughter's positive mindset and resilience helped the family get through the ordeal.
"We have such a different outlook on life now. It's brought us all together."
Mrs Alo, who is Aboriginal, said the family's cultural background was "massive for Imohgen".
"She will represent that any way she can with her sport."
Bill Stavreski, the Leukaemia Foundation's head of research, said "blood cancer survival rates for kids have greatly improved to about 90 per cent".
"They account for 40 to 50 per cent of all cancers in kids. There are a lot more targeted treatments now," Mr Stavreski said.
He said research was focused on "the cause, mutations and biomarkers of these cancers to identify who might be at risk".
"Early detection improves survival rates."
Damon Cronshaw
Health and medicine, science, research, nutrition. Email: dcronshaw@newcastleherald.com.au
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