LACHLAN Stephenson always found a way to make his family laugh, even in the most devastating moments. His brain cancer diagnosis was no different. Mum Amy recalls her late son trying to make those around him feel at ease after they were "told to go home and make memories". "Lach's line was 'gees mum, we could swim out of here in your tears'," the Camperdown mother-of-two said. "He always made us laugh. He used humour to deflect the situation." Lachlan was just 20 when he died on New Year's Day 2022 after a seven-month battle with brain cancer. His family has since poured its energy into raising money and awareness for the debilitating disease. They have collected more than $74,000 - and counting - for The Brain Cancer Centre and taken part in a revealing video campaign called Public Diagnosis which went live in November and can be seen on television stations and in cinemas across Australia. Amy, daughter Riley and sister Hanna also took part in the Tasmanian Point 2 Pinnacle - a 21.1-kilometre trek from Hobart to the top of Mount Wellington - on November 19, 2023 as members of a 300-strong Carrie's Beanies for Brain Cancer team. The trio raised $4500 through that initiative while Carrie's Beanies for Brain Cancer collective gathered more than $560,000. The family knows sharing their heart-breaking story is a way to help attract much-needed money for research and medical breakthroughs. It's why they have thrown their support behind The Brain Cancer Centre's Public Diagnosis idea. "We went to Sydney in January of this year and we'd been talking in the couple of months prior to that about their vision for the next campaign and how they wanted to bring out into the public the diagnosis, something that traditionally happens behind closed doors," Amy said. "Not many people get to experience, luckily, what a diagnosis like that feels like. "We still just can't believe how your life can change in a day and how you can have somebody who is never sick - the only illness he ever had took his life." There have been minimal medical advances for brain cancer in the past 60 years. The Stephensons, including dad Jason, want that to change. "We just know Lach would want something done, he wouldn't wanted to have died in vain," Amy said. Amy, who works at Camperdown College, said the Point 2 Pinnacle walk was gruelling but invigorating. It took the trio four hours and 20 minutes to reach the summit. "We had no comprehension of what could've been so I think ignorance was bliss," she said. "It will be hard next year when we know what we're facing. "It was the consistency of the hills and longevity - it just didn't let up. We got to 17km and I didn't think I had anything left in my legs and the last kilometres are the hardest. "Rils said to me 'this is nothing compared to what Lach had to go through'. We need to count ourselves lucky we were able to do it. "The atmosphere was amazing and it was very emotional once we got to the top." People can donate to the Stephensons' cause via https://shoutforgood.com/fundraisers/curebraincancerforstevo