When Emily Denny's mother Patricia was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017, her life was changed forever. Having just turned 18, Ms Denny was in her first semester of a psychology degree at the University of Tasmania in Launceston, when her mother began having seizures. After tests revealed a tumor the size of a golf ball was putting pressure on her mother's temporal lobe, the family moved to Canberra where Mrs Denny underwent treatment. "My sister is a GP in Canberra and we were there for eight months caring for mum 24 hours a day with Dad," Ms Denny said. "It was very difficult, because the location of her tumor was in the hippocampus in the temporal lobe. "She had no short term memory, so she didn't remember that she had cancer." Ms Denny deferred university to care for her mother, who sadly died in December, 2017. As a young carer, Emily said her mental health was compromised as she developed extreme difficulties with her sleep patterns - issues which still affect her today. Now living in Low Head with her father Derek, Ms Denny has since gone back to university and is now in her second year of study. She is also in the running for a Cancer Council Seize the Day scholarship. Tasmania chief executive Penny Egan said the scholarships were for young people aged between 16 and 25, who have been impacted by cancer, to assist with post-secondary education and apprenticeship costs. "The scholarship is more than just the monetary worth, it acknowledges the difficulties the students have faced and gives them the encouragement to remain positive and persevere when facing adverse circumstances and pursue their future goals," she said. This year Cancer Council Tasmania will present 47 scholarships, worth $37,000, with the Northern recipients to be announced in Launceston on May 1. Ms Denny said she knew her mother would be proud to know she was continuing her education. "I want to become a clinical psychologist," she said. "I have dealt with a lot of my own issues, so it's important to me to be able to help people my own age, to know that they have a place to go and talk to people about their problems."