Boy suffers cancer relapse days before Christmas

A mother has said she will make Christmas "as normal as possible" for her child who has a rare form of cancer.

Laura Stephenson's son Oliver was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, an aggressive and complex cancer, when he was four years old in 2020.

Oliver, from Ackworth, near Wakefield, took part in a treatment trial in the US after fundraising generated donations of £300,000 and he was given the all-clear in 2021.

However, the sporty schoolboy has suffered a relapse just days before Christmas.

After more than three and a half years of relative normality, Oliver's family were given the news that the cancer had returned.

Mrs Stephenson said Oliver, now eight, had gone from "strength to strength" and enjoyed playing football and rugby.

"We've been getting on with work and getting on with life. All of a sudden last week we were told that he'd relapsed. It has just come out of nowhere."

Doctors found two tumours, one in Oliver's back and another in his neck.

"I think we're still in a state of shock and a little bit of denial," added Mrs Stephenson, who also has a younger son, Alfie, with husband James.

"This can't be happening because he's so well. He's running around.

"The day we found out he'd relapsed he went to football training that night."

The family are due to celebrate Oliver's ninth birthday on Boxing Day.

"We want to make Christmas as normal as possible. We want everything to be normal, which thankfully he's well enough for.

"We're counting our blessings on that one."

Oliver is due to start chemotherapy at the end of December which will initially last for three to four months to see how the tumours respond.

"It's a 'see what we can do and hope for the best' situation unfortunately," Mrs Stephenson said.

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