Cordeaux Heights woman Louise Mearing thought she'd been through the worst of it, after bringing up four daughters on her own while her husband Stephen battled and ultimately succumbed to stomach cancer.
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Yet this month she received the most devastating blow of all when her youngest daughter Chloe received the same diagnosis as her father - and was given just 12 months to live.
The 18-year-old tested positive for an inherited gene mutation that causes gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) a few years ago - along with two of her sisters. However the women were told their chances of getting a tumour were low (three per cent).
With Chloe we've been told the cancer is aggressive, and inoperable. It's just an absolute waste - Chloe is funny and smart; she's kind and courageous. It's not fair.
"We were also told that these tumours usually occurred in people over 40," Mrs Mearing said. "So for Chloe to be diagnosed at 18 ... well it just broke me.
"I lost my second child at full term when I was 30; I lost my husband when I was 40, and now I'm going to lose my daughter in my 50s - it's just not right."
Chloe started experiencing fatigue at the end of last year, with doctors initially putting it down to an iron deficiency. But when supplements did nothing to help, and the Smith's Hill High student started to vomit regularly, specialists were called in and scans undertaken. Then, the bad news.
"A CT scan found something in my stomach," Chloe said, "and I had a gastroscopy and biopsy which confirmed that it was a tumour, and that the cancer had spread with spots on my liver too.
"I don't think it's really sunk in yet, but I have limited time and I just want to make memories with my family."
Family friend, Heather Prior, hopes to help them do just that - setting up an online fundraiser to help with medical costs and allow them to spend precious time doing things they love.
"I don't like asking for things," Mrs Mearing said. "But I'm just overwhelmed by the support we've received - even the younger siblings of my daughter's friends donating their pocket money. It's brought me to tears."
Chloe has not been able to complete her HSC this year; she will not realise her dream of becoming a police officer, yet her wishes are simple: "I just want to go on holiday with my family".
Mrs Mearing cannot believe history has repeated.
"In 2000, a tumour bigger than a football was discovered in Stephen's stomach. He nearly died during the operation to remove it, but we had another six years with him," she said.
"With Chloe we've been told the cancer is aggressive, and inoperable. It's just an absolute waste - Chloe is funny and smart; she's kind and courageous. It's not fair."
The gofundme, Mearing Muster - Making Memories, has reached almost $20,000 in three days.