By Teino Evans, Staff Reporter

( L - R ) Carol Duhaney (left) and daughter Nikki Z. - file

Popular radio personality Nikki Z says she is remaining hopeful that her mother can recover from her present battle with cancer.

Carol Duhaney, Nikki Z's mother, was recently diagnosed with the disease and although there is no cure, the disc-jock is hoping that with the right treatment and family support, her life can be sustained.

"Right about now we're just taking it day by day. They (the doctors) say she has melanoma cancer and there is no cure for it, but there is treatment. She is in high spirits and she's a fighter," Nikki Z said.

Nikki Z's mother, who is originally from St Elizabeth, now lives abroad, but according to Nikki Z, "I'm trying to get her to move back. I'm telling her maybe it's the Lord's way of telling her to come back home and relax and take some time for herself."

According to Nikki Z, "She's been helping people all her life, she put herself through school, got her CNA (certified nursing assistant) and now I just feel that she needs to take some time out for herself."

"My thing is like my mother's thing, I'm taking it day by day. She has medicine to take in the morning, so as long as she's coping fine, I'm coping fine. It's one of those illnesses that you can't do nothing about, but if you think about it too much, you can get really depressed," Nikki Z said.

She added, "We're focussing on getting her better, so we just have to make sure she's happy, keep her in high spirits, call and bother her and remind her that she has something to fight for."