A four-year-old boy was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia after lumps found on his head and throat turned out to be cancer.
Arthur Salters-Hoult’s parents initially noticed a small lump on his head last year. It soon grew but the family say their GP told them it was a cist that would eventually go away.
Instead, the lump continued to get bigger and another appeared on his neck, at which point the family were told they were lymph nodes.
The Wallsend youngster was taken to A&E four times before a consultant found the youngster had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in March this year.
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is rare, with around 790 people diagnosed with the condition each year in the UK. Most cases develop in children, teenagers and young adults.
Further tests showed Arthur had a chromosome mutation which means having to go through intensive chemotherapy and he may need a bone marrow transplant in future, Chronicle Live reports.
His father Ricky Hoult told the site: “Last November we noticed a lump on his head, a little small one, and then it was getting bigger and the GP said it was a cist and would go away. Then it got bigger and bigger and then he started getting one on his neck. We were told it was his lymph nodes.
“We kept going to A&E because Arthur wasn’t well and on the fourth visit we saw a consultant and within 90 minutes he had been diagnosed leukaemia.
“He underwent more tests and it took five weeks for the results to come back and that was because they hadn’t seen the mutation before.”
Despite the diagnosis, the young Newcastle United fan has shown “amazing strength and lives each day to the full and is ready to take on new challenges that present daily given the nature of his condition,” his father added.
Mr Hoult has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money for Leukaemia UK. To donate, click here.
