A Christchurch boy who touched so many people’s lives with his caring, uplifting and brave outlook on life has died.

Lachie Sutherland was diagnosed in January 2012 with neuroblastoma cancer – an aggressive form of childhood extra-cranial cancer.

His father, Chris Sutherland, died from metastatic melanoma in 2013, after being diagnosed a month earlier.

Lachie spent hundreds and hundreds of nights in hospitals in Christchurch and Sydney.

In a heartbreaking post on the family’s public Facebook page it reads “it is with a heavy heart that we post this evening to share the news that Lachie passed away at the Nurse Maude Hospice today.”

“We are heartbroken for our loss but deeply relieved that Lachie is no longer suffering.”

Hundreds of tributes have been posted on the Touch Pause and Engage Facebook page.

Close family friend Sarah Faulkner said on a Givealittle page “in the years following Lachie’s treatment and Chris’s passing, this family has worked hard to heal and rebuild.”

“Its been a challenging and exhausting journey.”

“Last year when Kelly (Lachie’ s mum) re-married. we celebrated with them as a new and exciting chapter in their lives began.”

“It was to be short lived. Just four weeks after their marriage, Kelly and Jon learnt that Lachie had relapsed.”

Lachie spent the past five months undergoing 8 rounds of chemotherapy and 7 cycles of immunotherapy and radiation.