9:09am Thursday 14th February 2008
By Haydn Lewis
"HE was our brave boy and now it's really hard because we're only left with the memories of our child."
Those were the words of Gloria Jallorina describing her brave son John, who had lost his battle against cancer aged 13.
John, of Danesfort Avenue, Acomb, York, had been battling Hodgkin Lymphoma, otherwise known as Hodgkin's Disease, for 18 months.
He had received treatment for his illness firstly at York Hospital and latterly at St James's University Hospital, Leeds.
Although it is widely recognised as one of the most curable forms of cancer, John lost his fight against the disease on February 3 and his funeral on Friday was attended by about 70 of his classmates from All Saints' RC School in York.
Mrs Jallorina, her husband, Mamerlito, and 11-year-old daughter, Geneve, are still feeling stunned by the loss of John.
Mrs Jallorina said: "I just want to be able to see my son again. I still can't believe he has gone.
"It has been just so hard living without John. He was a wonderful boy who was older than his years and very intelligent."
Mr Jallorina added: "If you were speaking to him you would think you were speaking to a 25-year-old or someone much older.
"He had such a strong determination and fighting spirit."
As well as playing rugby at school, one of John's favourite things was his pets, his dog, Ella, and in particular, his collection of 17 tarantula spiders.
"At one point he had 21 spiders, and we didn't mind because he loved collecting them. He knew everything about them, their common and Latin names and all about their habits," said Mr Jallorina.
"We are looking into auctioning them online in the future to be able to help raise money for cancer research."
Mr Jallorina, who works for Nestlé and Mrs Jallorina, a nurse, are originally from the Philippines and have been receiving well-wishes from members of their family all around the world.
But they say they have been touched by the words of John's teachers and schools friends who presented them with two books of condolence after the funeral at Our Lady's RC Church, Acomb.
John's head teacher, Bill Scriven said: "John was an incredibly polite young man and the fact that staff, students, his friends and classmates joined his family and helped pack out the church at his funeral is testament to just how much he will be missed.
"He had been poorly for the past 18-months or so, and recently it had been thought that he was getting better and he might have been able to come back to school. But in the end that wasn't to be.
"Our thoughts are with his family at this time."
Hodgkin Lymphoma is more common in younger people in their 20s, although it can occur at any age and, like other cancers, is a disease of the body's cells.
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