The annual campaign – now in its 20th year – raises funds for CanTeen, a youth cancer charity which has given Nikolas and his mother Jennifer Gifford much support over the last 14 months.

The Keira High School student’s back pain was initially put down to ‘‘growing pains’’ but, when it persisted, his mother held out for a proper diagnosis.

‘‘Nik was always a really active, social kid but around two years ago he started to get really tired all the time and was getting pain in his lower back,’’ Ms Gifford said.

‘‘We were told it was growing pains but when he was still suffering months later I ended up one night in the emergency department at Wollongong Hospital, and refused to leave untll I found out what was wrong.’’

A CT scan uncovered a tumour in Nikolas’ left adrenal gland, which was putting pressure on his kidneys and his spine.

He was sent to Sydney Children’s Hospital for tests and was formally diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma in June, 2013.

‘‘Everything went really fast after that – he had surgery and then a series of chemotherapy treatments,’’ Ms Gifford said.

‘‘But the cancer spread into his skull, spine, shoulders, hips and his knees.

‘‘In May this year, he underwent a trial of two medications but had such a bad reaction to it that we had to stop it. He was offered another trial but chose not to.

‘‘The doctors have told us there’s nothing more they can do for him.’’

The single mother, who also has an older son, said the family was now ‘‘grateful for every day’’ – with Nikolas trying as many new experiences as he can.

Through CanTeen he has been able to attend camps and outings, and has met other young people affected by cancer to share experiences, support each other and have fun.

‘‘He’s been doing a lot of activities which has helped him cope with his diagnosis,’’ Ms Giffford said.

‘‘Without Camp Quality and CanTeen, he wouldn’t be coping as well as he is.’’

More than $30 million has been raised for CanTeen since National Bandanna Day was established in 1994 – and this year’s fundraising goal is $1.1million.

CanTeen volunteers will be selling bandannas on Friday in various locations, including Wollongong Central.