Years in and out of hospital have not put a dampener on Kane Ransom's sense of adventure.
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The keen jiu-jitsu student is preparing to complete a series of terrifying tasks this Friday, including getting in a bathtub with an eight-foot python, all in the name of eradicating childhood cancer. The eight-year-old from Ashtonfield is currently undergoing chemotherapy after being diagnosed with leukaemia five years ago.
"Kane isn't really afraid of anything," his father Brendan Ransom said. "He's much braver than his dad."
Mr Ransom said five years ago he and his wife Natalie watched their three-year-old "come to a stop".
"He started complaining of pain throughout his body. From a boy who you couldn't keep still to him refusing to walk was a real worry."
The family went to multiple doctors who said there was nothing wrong with Kane. After six weeks passed with no answers, Ms Ransom went to a fifth GP and demanded a blood test.
"The morning after we found out he had leukaemia," Mr Ransom said. "The oncologist said if it had gone on another month we would have been planning a funeral."
Kane underwent 12 months of intensive treatment at John Hunter Children's Hospital. After 18 months in remission, he relapsed at the age of six.
"He deteriorated really quickly the second time," Mr Ransom said. "We couldn't hug him he was in so much pain."
After undergoing a second round of intensive treatment, Kane has entered the maintenance stage of chemotherapy. He takes daily chemotherapy pills and visits hospital once a month for a stronger dose followed by steroid treatment.
Kane trains in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and archery weekly and "loves building Lego, and Star Wars and Harry Potter".
"He is much better than what he was but he is certainly not in the clear," Mr Ransom said. "He can go to school now and he has somewhat of an immune system."
Kane has volunteered to become an ambassador for the Children's Cancer Institute's CEO Dare to Cure campaign, which will see 50 business leaders take on an array of challenges in Sydney on Friday to raise money for research. Kane has agreed to get in a glass tub with an Olive Python, Australia's second largest snake, fly the trapeze and shave his head.
Mr Ransom said the Institute's goal of bringing the death rate of childhood cancer to zero was worthwhile.
"We saw a lot of children pass while we were on ward. You hear people say they 'lost their battle with cancer' but really they just ran out of time," he said. "By funding research we can give that time back to them."
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