Eight-year-old Ethan Simpson was diagnosed with an extensive brain tumour

He had the kind of normal, unremarkable life enjoyed by any eight-year-old, until the terrible news struck a month ago.

That was when the Bandiana Primary School student's family discovered everything had now changed, in what turned into a fight for Ethan's life.

Ethan was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive cancer.

His mother, Tiffany Motton, vividly remembered the day the prognosis was delivered.

"Ethan has been diagnosed with a rare ependymoma, a type of tumour that can form in the brain or spinal cord," she said.

"He was vomiting every morning, and I thought he had anxiety because I was 37 weeks' pregnant.

"When I took him to the doctors they said he had a slight infection. But as a mum I wasn't OK with that answer and the doctor sent us to the hospital, where he had a CT scan and there it was."

Ms Motton said she instantly thought the diagnosis was wrong.

"It's pretty gut-wrenching," she said.

A fundraiser for Ethan and his family was launched at Bupa Aged Care in West Wodonga on Saturday.

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Money raised will contribute to his treatment and to cover the costs associated with Ethan enjoying time with his family while in Melbourne.

Bupa manager Kerrie Myer said Bupa would match any amount raised.

"We will be doing other things to support the family, such as food hampers to help them too," Ms Myer said.

"We are very very happy to support them and overwhelmed by the generosity."

Ms Myer said if anyone wanted to donate to the family, they could do so by contacting the Wodonga office.

Ethan's grandmother and an employee of Bupa Aged Care, Michelle Packham, also helped set up the fundraiser to relieve the family's financial pressure.

"I feel so helpless for my daughter," she said.

"She has had to take time off work and also has a six-week-old baby, it's very stressful for her.

"I wanted to help, so the team and I set up a garage sale, and all the money raised will be matched by Bupa.

"It's such a nice thing to see the support from the community donating to help.

"It's not a nice experience for us to go through; it's quite horrible."

For the past month, Ethan has been in and out of Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital, with even the doctors unsure as to why Ms Motton's little boy had been burdened with such an affliction.

"It's been physically and mentally exhausting," Ms Motton said.

"We are faced with the risk of losing him and just want to give him as many experiences as we can together."

Ethan, she said, was caring, loving "and the most beautiful boy".

"He has now become a shell of himself though one who still smiles for everyone else," she said.

Radiation treatment has had the side effect of causing Ethan to vomit, with losing weight and his hair likely in the time ahead - as well as affecting his speech.

Ms Motton said there were also the dangers involved every time Ethan underwent surgery.

"We are faced with the risk of losing him," she said.

"We want to give him everything we can and experience; this fundraiser makes us feel like we aren't alone and there are people wanting to support us."

Ms Motton said the reality of Ethan's predicament was that if surgeons could not remove all of the cancer, "it will keep coming back".

"It's awful as parents to feel so powerless. But he is so strong. Ethan got a Nintendo Switch for Christmas that is at least keeping him entertained for the long trips in the car."

Ms Motton said the support from "so many people" for her family had been "amazing".

Looking back she said she could recall those small, physical signs that indicated something was wrong.

"Ethan is incredibly brave and his strength shines through," she said.

"He is consoling everyone around him; he is the strong one, but that's just who he is."

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