Former Skyhooks and Hey Hey It's Saturday star Red Symons' son has died from cancer, aged 27.

Neil Mitchell read out a statement from the Symons family on his 3AW radio show on Wednesday morning.

"It is with the deepest sadness Red announces the passing of his beautiful son, Samuel Symons," he said.

"Samuel passed peacefully overnight surrounded by his family. We ask that you please respect the privacy of Red and his family at this very sad and difficult time."

Mitchell went on to say that losing a child was one of the worst things a parent could experience.

"There is nothing more important than your kids," he said.

Earlier this year, Health Minister Jill Hennessy gave Samuel an Outstanding Achievement by a Young Volunteer Award for his work advocating for people living with cancer.

"Samuel is an incredibly inspiring young man," Ms Hennessy said at the time. "Whilst dealing with his own health challenges he is also focused on the needs of other people, and particularly other young people with cancer. It's an extraordinary contribution."

Samuel has been a Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre patient since he was diagnosed with a brain tumour at the age of four. The cancer returned earlier this year.

He joined Peter Mac's community advisory committee at the age of 25 and also advised the hospital on the design of its Melbourne Youth Cancer Centre.

Red Symons has previously written about the "anguish" of seeing his son experience cancer treatment.

"I shall always carry a frozen frame of that chair and bed and window and room and [Samuel] and his trusting compliance," he wrote for The Monthly in 2016. "On the advice of the finest minds, and at his parents' behest, he was poisoning himself."

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