The family of a toddler whose kidney cancer was mistaken for a “viral infection” has shared their experience of being delivered the devastating news.
Little Jamie Clarke was rushed to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital earlier this year after his mum, 21-year-old Ashley Hughes, discovered a lump on the side of his stomach.
Doctors initially suspected the two-year-old was suffering from a viral infection because his glands were swollen but he was taken back to the hospital by his dad Jamie, 24, the following day.
Nan Angela Daniels, 31, from Kensington, said Jamie’s dad noticed this lump again and “wasn't happy” so he took him back to Alder Hey.
"They said it was constipation and again it could be his glands,” she told the Liverpool Echo.
“Ashley brought Jamie to my house on Sunday and he didn't look himself.
"He was very grey and white, he wasn't sitting properly in his pram and he couldn't really walk."
Angela said Jamie's grandad Andrew was also concerned after seeing the lump, so took him back to Alder Hey.
After undergoing blood tests, the family was told Jamie had anaemia and he was kept in hospital overnight.
The results of further tests revealed the two-year-old had a tumour that was 11cm by 8cm in size, as well as polycystic cysts on his kidneys.
"They didn't know if it was benign or cancerous at this point,” Angela said.
Due to the amount of cysts on his kidneys, she said doctors were concerned that a biopsy could cause them to burst.
So on January 7, he underwent an eight hour operation to remove the tumour and kidney.
Doctors told Jamie's family the devastating news he had a Wilms tumour - a type of kidney cancer that primarily affects children.
Angela said: "It was horrible. We always thought the worst. We knew that it was something bad but we didn't realise how bad it was.
"He doesn't understand what's going on, I think that's the hardest part. He's got a good support network around him he really has.
"I think Ashley is still in shock and still quite numb."
The operation was successful in removing the tumour but Jamie must now undergo six months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy at Alder Hey and the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Wirral.
Angela has set up a Gofundme page in the hope of raising enough money to take Jamie on a day out or on holiday once he has finished his treatment.
She hopes sharing Jamie's story will help to raise awareness of cancer in children and encourage others to "always go with your gut instinct" and not be afraid to go back to the doctors if you are concerned.
In a message on the Gofundme page, Angela said: "We thought we would try this to help us give our baby a day he deserves. He is our true super hero and I wish no one will ever have to go through what we all have been through."
