Cancer battle: Geraldton man Sam Haskell bowled over by support

A Geraldton man, diagnosed with cancer, has been overwhelmed with support from friends and family. Sam Haskell, 20, said, “I had no idea I had so many good mates." Recently, his world was turned upside down when he received a leukaemia diagnosis. Mr Haskell and his friend Ivy Woolnough made a Go-Fund-Me page to help cover his living expenses while he is unable to work. “We set the goal as $1000 and thought we’d be really happy if we reached it,” he said. Within an hour, the page had raised $6000. Less than 24 hours later, 168 donors had raised more than $13,000, and more than 700 people had shared the page. “It was a bit of a shock ... I am pretty amazed,” he said. Mr Haskell grew up in Geraldton but moved to Sydney in 2018 to pursue his dream of working on timber boats. He missed the surf and his school friends but was happy to be doing something he loved. “It’s a pretty cool job,” he said. Since his diagnosis, his parents have travelled from Geraldton to Sydney to help support him. Mr Haskell said despite the circumstances, it was nice to have them there.