Name: Martin Leicht

Current age: 22

Age at diagnosis: 18

Cancer Type: Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML)

Time spent in remission: 3.5 years

What brings you to this site? Young adults being able to talk with each other and provide support.

Favourite quote: “Short term pain, long term gain.” Someone told me this while I was sick and it helped me a lot to think of it, especially in periods where things were looking pretty dismal. Whether it’s a month or years, it’s small compared to gaining the rest of your life!

Favourite:
Colour – blue
Book – I love fantasy
Food – I eat just about anything, I love Italian
Hobby – Computers, cooking (sometimes), and my 1969 HK Holden Ute I am restoring at the moment.

My top three tips for healing…
1. Positivity – medicine can do so much but half the battle is being positive and remaining positive.
2. Listen to your body – do things when you feel up to it, even if it is even only a short work, it all helps.
3. Surround yourself with family and friends: I can’t begin to describe how important my family and friends were (and still are) to help me through this journey.

What I would have changed about my hospital experience...
Not being in hospital for so long! The staff at the Mater were great it and definitely helped.

The things that help/ helped me get through treatment...
Family and friends, a normal life to return to, my awesome dog Molly and my ute (being sick had given me a long time to plan what I wanted). I love music too and it sometimes helps to just relax and escape sometimes.

Surviving cancer has made me a better person because...
Facing something like this definitely makes you more mature and appreciate things some people take for granted. So much patience waiting for doctors too!

My most memorable experience…
Of this experience it would be finding I had a perfect stem cell transplant match after so long of waiting, and I found this out only 1 or 2 days after Christmas – what a present!

Happiness is... being healthy and having people around who love you!

Any final remarks? Thanks for reading and I wish you all the best in your journey, you can do it!

Thanks Martin for your time!

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