'This doesn't happen to us' - mum on child's cancer
SuppliedThe mother of a five-year-old girl has spoken of the shock she felt when her daughter was diagnosed with leukaemia.
"I thought, this doesn't happen to us, this is what happens to other people," said Sam about the moment she found out daughter Nina, from Peterborough, was suffering from cancer days, just days after she had started school.
Sam had become concerned about Nina's persistent bruising and lack of energy, and now hoped to raise awareness about the disease during September's Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
"She just didn't seem as full of life as she usually was... I couldn't work out what was wrong," Sam said. "I was searching her symptoms and leukaemia kept coming up."
Sam first noticed large bruises on Nina's arms, legs and forehead shortly after she started school last September, but initially thought they were from everyday knocks and bumps.
After Nina's teacher raised concerns that she had fallen asleep in class and was not herself, the then four-year-old underwent blood tests and was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), a cancer of the white blood cells.
Supplied"I thought maybe I was being an overprotective parent and a bit dramatic about it all," said Sam of her initial concerns.
"You'd think when you get told your child has cancer you would just burst into tears.
"But it was such a shock I didn't cry at all. [Nina's father] Daniel was the opposite. He fell to the floor."
Hospital trial
She began treatment on her fifth birthday in October and underwent eight months of intensive chemotherapy.
She has also taken part in a clinical trial at Addenbrooke's Hospital, in Cambridge, which is investigating ways to improve survival rates and reduce long-term side effects for young people with ALL.
Sam said: "We felt if we were able to help children in the future by doing these trials, it was very important, because if other children in the past hadn't taken part in trials, then Nina wouldn't be on such a good treatment plan."
Her family saw "a turning point" when Nina began a newer treatment designed to help the immune system target leukaemia cells.
"By Christmas Day she was dancing in the front room - that treatment really changed things," said Sam.
"She's a really confident little girl and she's just got on with it. She's made friends at school and in hospital and will happily talk to people about her leukaemia.
"Now we just want Nina to complete her treatment with as few complications as possible and go on to live her life like any other child."
Nina is now in the maintenance phase of her treatment, which is due to continue until December 2027, and is fronting a campaign led by Cancer Research UK to share her story.
Cancer Research UKMore stories from Peterborough:
There are about 2,400 new cancer cases in young people in the UK every year, which is more than six each day, according to Cancer Research UK.
Jose Ramos, Cancer Research UK's spokesperson for the East of England, said: "We're grateful to Nina's family for sharing their experience.
"Cancer is different in children and young people, from the types of cancer that affect this age group to the long-term effects of treatment.
"That's why it needs a dedicated approach."
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