Helena’s girl
She’sbravely takingupthe CAnCErfight
I hope Mum would be proud
When former music TV presenter and seasoned party girl Helena McAlpine passed away at just 37 from breast cancer in November 2015, her daughter Shannon made a promise.
“I’m gonna do big things for her,” vowed the then-15-year-old. Her poignant yet funny eulogy was easily the most impressive of the packed funeral service, which included tributes from seasoned public speakers, including broadcasters John Campbell and Clarke Gayford.
Fast-forward 18 months and Shannon, an apprentice hairstylist, is making those words come true – as an ambassador for the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation (NZBCF). Shannon will be a speaker at several of the charity’s nationwide Pink Ribbon breakfasts taking place throughout May to encourage earlier detection.
“Mum used to say, ‘When I die, Shannon will take over,’” she tells Woman’sDay. “So when I got an email from NZBCF, I just thought, ‘Yeah, why not?’ I’m not afraid of public speaking – I grew up with Mum doing it – and it’s good to be able to do something like this, to share my experiences and go on
a bit of a road trip.”
British-born Helena was originally diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009. Although the cancer was in remission, it came back in 2012, spreading to her liver and becoming terminal.
Throughout that time and despite taking a heavy cocktail of drugs, she became a key spokesperson for NZBCF, as well as marrying banker Christopher Barton in a fairytale wedding in December 2014.
At 16, Shannon is strikingly similar to her loud, irreverent, creative mother. It’s in her looks, her eloquence and her confidence, which exudes from every pore.
She admits this can be a mixed blessing. “I definitely have Mum’s attitude and her temper,” she says. “The older I get, the angrier I’ve become. I’m just as rude as she was! But there are some good things I’ve inherited too.”
The teenager has a close relationship with her Kiwi stepdad Brett McAlpine. “Dad is like the loveliest, kindest, sweetest bogan,” she grins. But it’s the bond with her boyfriend of two years, Rene Owen, 19, that she credits with helping her the most over the past couple of years. He, too, lost his mum to cancer at a young age.
Rene, a spray painter and furniture remover, was just seven when his mother passed away from the disease. But unlike Shannon, whose mum fought a very public campaign, he wasn’t involved or educated about his mum’s illness.
“He was told she was sick and then she was in hospital,” tells Shannon. “He didn’t really understand what was going on. She passed away two weeks later. They couldn’t afford a funeral, so she just has a little plaque at the funeral home.”
Touchingly, Rene was adopted by his family’s nextdoor neighbour after his mum’s death and remained there until he moved out at 16. “He still goes to church to see her on Sundays,” tells Shannon proudly. “We spent Christmas with them.”
Shannon recalls the moment Rene first met her fearsome mum, who was in and out of hospital. “She was very protective of me and she was so mean to him!” she says. “She wouldn’t let him anywhere near her, even though he came to hospital with me every time. If she woke up and he was in the room, she’d kick him out!
“We were at the house