Sick mum wants tots to understand illness | Rotorua News | Local News in Rotorua

Rotorua woman Donna Burns doesn't want to be America's next Pop Idol and she's not running for mayor, but she does need votes to achieve her goal.

Mrs Burns was diagnosed with stage 3 non-Hodgkins lymphoma after she found a lump under her arm last year.

She was an otherwise healthy 37-year-old with two girls, Kyra, 4, and Tayla, 2. She said her biggest fear was for her daughters.

"Would I be around to see them grow up, after a prognosis of 10 to 12 years to live? And how would they cope, or understand, the effects of my treatment, like hair loss and being sick, when they are so young and know nothing of the disease?"

Mrs Burns decided to try to increase awareness and understanding of her type of cancer. She has written a children's book aimed at pre-schoolers, to help parents with cancer explain to their young children what would happen. She said she wanted to help take away at least one fear for people going through such a tough time.

But to get her book published she needs funding - which is why she has applied for an AMP scholarship. She is hoping to get the people's choice award, of $10,000, to enable her to distribute the book free of charge to hospitals and cancer societies around New Zealand.

The award is open to more than 1200 applicants in the running for the 2010 AMP scholarships and is awarded to the applicant who has the most votes on www.doyourthing.co.nz when voting closes on July 31.

Mrs Burns is now in remission after finishing treatment in February. Her hair has finally grown back and she says she is feeling great.

"I'm just a normal local woman that loves her kids and my life pretty much changed with a phonecall ... I can't cure cancer or make the pain of chemo go away but maybe this could take one fear away for mums who get diagnosed with cancer, because your first fear is for your kids." Mrs Burns' cancer is not curable. * To vote for Mrs Burns and check out other AMP scholarship applicants, go to www.doyourthing.co.nz, follow the people's choice voting tabs, and search the site. Voting closes on July 31 and winners will be announced in October.