The 17-year-old Kavanagh College pupil had her last chemotherapy session at Dunedin Hospital yesterday, after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (a rare form of blood cancer) three years ago.
To celebrate the occasion, she and her family and friends dressed up as characters from the Wizard of Oz.
''On my bad days when I was stuck in hospital, I would sit and watch the movie for hours, because it made me feel like at least something was going right in my world.
''It always made me happy and it really cheered me up.''
She said the film gave her hope and dared her to dream of the day when she would be cancer-free again.
September 12, 2013, will forever be imprinted in her memory.
It was the day she was diagnosed.
Shania said the diagnosis came as a complete shock because cancer was the last thing she expected when she went to the doctors.
''I was really pale and feeling really tired, and I'd been off school a bit. Mum thought I had anaemia and low iron, so she took me to the doctor for a blood test.
''That night we got a phone call and they gave us the news.
''It was very shocking. I just kind of froze and went really numb.
''I was right in the prime of my life - right where everything was going good - and it all just came crashing down.''
Shania said she was taken to Dunedin Hospital immediately for a blood transfusion, and the next day she was sent to Christchurch to begin six months of intensive chemotherapy and steroid treatment.
She said the ongoing treatment over the past three years had been harrowing.
''There have been good days and there have been bad days.
''I lost my hair twice. That was probably the worst thing for me.''
But now, Shania said she was feeling great.
Despite the ordeal, she passed NCEA level 1 last year and NCEA level 2 this year, and is looking forward to NCEA level 3 and her final year at school next year.
''It's a massive achievement. I didn't think I'd reach that.''
The prognosis is good.
Shania said she had been in remission for two years, she would no longer have to have chemotherapy, and all going well, she would be given the ''all clear'' in the next five years.
