Wilf's story

Wilf woke up one morning feeling off-colour and with pain in his tummy. He’d recently wet the bed a couple of times, which was unusual for him, but otherwise, there’d been nothing out of the ordinary with my lively youngest son.

Suspecting appendicitis, I took him to A&E that afternoon. After an initial examination, he was sent home, but we were instructed to return immediately if vomiting occurred. Later that evening, he began vomiting bile, prompting our return to the hospital. This time, he was assigned a cubicle bed, and a series of consultants examined him. His blood pressure was high, and his condition worsened visibly. In the middle of the night, he underwent an X-ray, and I distinctly recall staring at the radiographer’s screen and seeing the big white mass on one side of his chest and knowing this wasn’t good news.

Wilf was diagnosed with Wilms tumour following a barrage of scans and tests that revealed an 8cm tumour on his left kidney and lesions forming on his lung, confirming it was stage 4. He had a portacath fitted and received his first chemotherapy infusion under the care of The Royal Marsden.

It was a surreal and awful week. Wilf underwent six weeks of chemotherapy, which cleared the lung lesions, followed by surgery to completely remove his kidney with the tumour. The tumour had breached, but the brilliant surgical team managed to remove it completely. He then began 32 weeks of adjuvant chemotherapy to kill any remaining traces of cancer in his body and reduce the chance of it returning.

He completed treatment in Easter 2023, and now at nine years old, Wilf is two years in remission, with scans every three months. The treatment has been incredibly hard on him, and he’s become quite needle-phobic. Additionally, he required a lot of dental work and had baby molars removed due to chemo-related damage. Despite the challenges, he’s thriving, and I couldn't be more grateful to those who have cared for him.

I’m thankful that I took note of his symptoms, and although his diagnosis was brutal, it's important to know that such a serious diagnosis need not mean the worst.