'More support' needed for childhood cancer families

A family has said there needs to be more support for those going through a childhood cancer diagnosis.

Louie, 12, from Mansfield, in Nottinghamshire, was diagnosed with bone cancer last year after experiencing leg pain for nine months.

After a two-week break from treatment, Louie is starting four more rounds of chemotherapy this week.

Mansfield's Labour MP Steve Yemm said there's currently a "postcode lottery" when it comes to psychological support for those impacted by childhood cancer.

Yemm hosted a debate in Parliament this week about the experiences of young people with cancer - and urged the government to deliver its 10-year cancer plan "with urgency, with funding, and with accountability".

The National Cancer Plan for England, published earlier this year, promises earlier cancer diagnosis and faster treatment.

Louie's mum Chloe, who has been documenting the family's journey on social media, said: "As a family, we had never experienced anything like this.

"They say its uncommon, but here we are, we are just a normal family - you don't expect something like this to happen to you.

"As a family, me, my husband and my children, we are very much supported. But for his grandparents, like my mum and my mother-in-law, there isn't help there for them.

"For me, that is a massive thing, and more needs to be done for the extended family.

"Until I got the phone call, I didn't know what an oncology ward was. As parents, we aren't aware of the reality of cancer until it happens to you."

Chloe and Louie want to start a podcast to help other families to deal with a cancer diagnosis.

"Hopefully, by the end of this year, he will be on the road to recovery," Chloe added.

Yemm, who is the Parliamentary Champion for the Teenage Cancer Trust, used the debate to raise concerns over the "postcode lottery" of psychological support, access to clinical trials for young people and the lack of data collected on children with cancer.

He said: "What we need to recognise is young people with cancer are often being let down, they face delays in diagnosis, patchy or inconsistent mental health support and barriers to clinical trials.

"Support during and after cancer isn't in the right place.

"No young person should face cancer without the right support around them, and right now too many of them still are."

Louie, 13, said: "My first week of chemo I was quite rough, I was really sick, and I couldn't be bothered to speak or get up.

"Now I've been off chemo, I've been out with my mates and doing what I would usually do.

"I realise how lucky it is to go to school or go out with my mates because there's been moments when I've been stuck in a hospital."

Speaking of the chemotherapy restarting this week, Louie added: "Obviously I'm not happy about it, but I know what to expect. I'm going to go in much stronger than last time."

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