Lewis' Story
Marie Walton and her son, Lewis, have experienced the impact a delayed diagnosis can have on a child’s treatment first hand, after it took three years for Lewis to be diagnosed with osteosarcoma.
After developing pain in his right knee aged 11 in 2014, Lewis was taken to his GP and A&E multiple times over a three-year period, each time being told it was a reoccurring sports injury. After being sent for an MRI scan in June of 2017, Marie was given the devastating news that Lewis had osteosarcoma – a type of bone cancer. After intensive chemotherapy failed to treat the tumour in his leg, Lewis underwent surgery to amputate his leg above the knee in November of the same year.
Marie said: “The journey to Lewis’ diagnosis was long and incredibly tough on our whole family. We were back and forth to A&E with a painful lump on Lewis’ knee for three years before our GP sent us for an MRI and it is quite difficult to come to terms with the fact that a simple X-ray at the beginning could have prevented him having to have his leg amputated.
“Our GP was a huge support throughout the process and once diagnosed, Lewis’ treatment happened very quickly, but his story really does illustrate the lack of awareness of cancer in children. We could have never imagined Lewis’ football injury could be cancer, it’s just not something you think will happen to your child, but I instinctively knew something was not right. Lewis’ determination and independence has been inspirational, and we are slowly finding a new normal as a family. We just hope that by raising awareness of childhood cancer signs and symptoms, we can prevent other children experiencing the same delays that we did.”
Ethan's Story