‘You start chemo tomorrow’: Hamilton dad faces cancer at baby’s first Christmas

Wednesday, 24 December 2025

When he started having abdominal trouble, Hamilton resident Sam Smith thought it was a lingering bout of food poisoning.

However, after a whirlwind series of hospital visits, the 36-year-old web designer is now battling testicular cancer or stage 3C germ cell cancer.

It is not the way he and wife Danni Arts-Smith were expecting to celebrate their six-month-old son Leo’s first Christmas.

A chemotherapy session was scheduled for Boxing Day, and the couple would be staying in Hamilton rather than heading to the beach.

With Danni on maternity leave, and Sam too ill to work, the situation was stressful — and completely unexpected.

Last month they went to A&E because the pain had spread upwards, and doctors initially thought Sam had gallstones.

He was overwhelmed when a series of tests revealed it was something far more serious.

“It was like a snowball going downhill, and it just escalated over the course of three weeks,” he said.

“We got the final diagnosis about two weeks ago, and then they said ‘you start chemo tomorrow’.”

Tiredness and nausea were the biggest side effects so far, but he felt better than expected.

“Testicular cancer — or germ cell cancer — is one of the most responsive to chemotherapy, so it sounds like the chemo should knock most of it out.”

He wanted to raise awareness about the prevalence of testicular cancer, which he had since learned was the most common of all cancer types among men aged between 15 and 40.

Tumours had been found on his liver and in his oesophagus, but there had been no external symptoms.

He urged men to listen to their bodies and seek medical help if they were in pain, rather than brushing off problems and thinking ‘she’ll be right’.

His condition was serious, and he would undergo chemotherapy until March.

After that, any tumours that had not shrunk enough would be cut out, and there would be a two year window of susceptibility to a relapse.

Work was on hold for the time being.

“I'm just looking at the positives, being able to spend a lot more time with Danni and Leo.”

The couple were grateful for all the support they had received from family, friends, and the wider community.

Danni said they had not organised presents for Leo, and someone arranged for parents from Matamata Playcentre to donate toys for his first Christmas.

“We've had people pay to get our lawns mowed, and pick up nappies and formula, and drop meals off, it’s just amazing.”

“We've had so many great babysitters for Leo so I could be at the hospital.”

The Waikato Hospital oncology team had also been “amazing”, especially given the time of year and the pressure the health system was under.

It was not a great time be off work, she said.

She had been working as an early childhood education teacher, but it was a job with a lot of bugs, and she hoped to transition to a role that would keep Sam safe while his immune system was down.

The couple had no income currently, although a Givealittle page had already raised more than expected.

The money would be put towards paying the mortgage and rates, food and bills, and general living costs.

“That will definitely bridge a lot of the gap of funds, so that takes a massive load off us mentally,” Danni said.

The last few weeks had been “a lot” to process, and the couple were taking things one day at a time.

They would have a relaxing, quiet Christmas with family in Hamilton.