Ten-year-old Chard girl given 'shock brain cancer diagnosis'

Louise and Richard White, from Chard, feared something was seriously wrong when their daughter Emily began suffering regular headaches and vomiting last year, despite GPs suggesting it was "likely a bug".
  
Mum Louise said: "Myself and Richard took Emily to the GP four times and each time I was told it was likely that Emily had a bug, and we were sent home.

"Our instinct took over and eventually we went to A&E at Musgrove Hospital in Taunton where she was given a CAT scan. We were given the news no family wants to hear. Emily had a brain tumour and our world changed instantly.

"We were immediately blue-lighted to Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. Everything happened so fast and thankfully Emily was treated so well.

"She underwent 33 sessions of radiotherapy and never complained once, she is amazing and the bravest person we know."

Louise added: "At first, we were told to go home and make memories with her as it looked as though her tumour was high grade, but then following radiotherapy and chemotherapy the outlook seems brighter.

"We won’t know for sure, but she is having regular scans to check on the tumour and it has been shrinking. We are so grateful for research and the work that goes on into treating cancer. That’s why raising money for Cancer Research UK for Children & Young People is so vital."

To mark Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, Emily is asking people across Somerset to clear out their wardrobes to help fund research that will help more children survive cancer.

Emily, a pupil of Winsham Primary School, has raised an incredible £6,000 for various charities who've helped her, through bake sales, crafting fayres, and cream tea events.

Now she is backing TK Maxx’s Give Up Clothes for Good campaign in support of Cancer Research UK for Children and Young People.

Emily asks that anyone with pre-loved quality fashion and homeware that they no longer need to donate the items to their nearest TK Maxx store.

Louise added: "We want to help families like ours have more moments too, so as a family we will be having a good clear out at home to find clothes and things to donate. We hope our experience will inspire others Somerset to do the same. Their unwanted items really could save lives.”
 
The couple put their jobs on hold to help look after Emily and are aware that September brings many different emotions for the family, with Emily going into her last year at Primary school and older daughters Ella, 25 and Evie, 21, no longer being at home.
 
Louise said: “It is a quiet time now at home and one of reflection for us as we look back on what has been a busy and unsettling year, but Emily is doing really well and we are so proud of the way she has dealt with everything.”

Each year in the UK around 420 children are diagnosed with brain or central nervous system tumours.

Cancer Research UK has helped to more than double children’s cancer survival in the UK since the 1970s. Today, more than 8 in 10 children and young people diagnosed with cancer will survive for at least 10 years, but there’s still much further to go.** 
 
The Royal Hospital for Children in Bristol is one of the many centres across the UK taking part in groundbreaking clinical trials coordinated by Cancer Research UK’s Children's Cancer Trials Team. These trials make innovative new treatments available to children with cancer in Bristol and across the region.             
 
One of the trials is finding out what the best possible treatment options are for children and young adults with a type of brain tumour called ependymoma.
 
Cancer Research UK spokesperson for the South West, Alison Birkett, said: “We’re grateful to the White family for helping to shine a light on some of the challenges faced by children like Emily that our scientists our working to tackle.

"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, such as hearing loss and infertility. So, it needs different and dedicated research which campaigns like Give Up Clothes for Good help to fund.

“Emily has been taking the drug Temozolomide, which is a type of chemotherapy which interferes with cell growth and division, helping to prevent the tumour from growing.

"Cancer Research UK supported the first-in-human trials of this drug. Our funded scientists led by Malcolm Stevens discovered Temozolomide in 1987 at the University of Aston.
 
“It’s thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we are beating cancer. Step by step, day by day. More than 9 in 10 children and young people with cancer who receive cancer drugs on the NHS receive a drug linked to our work. And we’re unlocking discoveries about these cancers and translating them into new and less toxic ways to treat them.

"But, despite huge progress, too many young lives are still lost to this devastating disease. By donating any quality clothes or goods to their local TK Maxx store, people across Taunton, Yeovil and Weston-super-Mare and Bristol, can help ensure more young people in the region - and across the UK – can live longer, better lives free from the fear of cancer.”
 
TK Maxx is the biggest corporate supporter of Cancer Research UK’s research into children’s and young people’s cancers. Since 2004, the retailer has raised over £45 million to help improve survival and reduce long-term side effects.
 
This includes supporting the Cancer Research UK Children’s Brain Tumour Centre of Excellence for the last six years, which brings together expert researchers from across the globe to accelerate the development of better treatments for children with brain tumours.

Give Up Clothes for Good is the UK’s longest running clothes collection. The public can donate at any TK Maxx store all year round - including those in Weston-super-Mare, Yeovil, and Taunton.
 
Find out more at cruk.org/childrenandyoungpeople. People can also show their support by wearing a gold ribbon badge – the awareness symbol of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month – available from Cancer Research UK shops during September.