Leukaemia, also spelled leukemia, is a cancer of the white blood cells. White blood cells are part of the body’s immune system and help fight infection. In leukaemia, the bone marrow, the spongy tissue inside bones where blood cells are made, produces abnormal white blood cells. These abnormal cells crowd out healthy blood cells, which […]
What You Should Know About World Leukaemia Day Read More »
We all know that starting school can be a daunting prospect both for the child and for the parents, add to that a cancer diagnosis and ongoing treatment and it gets even more daunting. There are so many more things to consider. My son started Reception when he reached long-term maintenance in treatment for ALL
Starting or returning to school during cancer treatment Read More »
Calum’s Cabin is a charity that provides holiday retreats for children facing cancer. The charity is named after Calum Speirs who was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour when he was just 11 years old. During his treatment, he was aware of how lucky he was to live in a beautiful part of the world
Calum’s Cabin Children’s Cancer Charity Read More »
During 2023 -2024, the Dinosaur and I were involved in promoting a new charity in Gloucestershire called Emily’s Gift operating under the umbrella of the Pied Piper Appeal. Their aim was simple: raise £500,000 in one year to fund psychological support for ten years for the families of the children’s oncology unit at Gloucestershire Royal
Emily’s Gift – A New Children’s Cancer Charity Read More »
There are an awful lot of places around the UK that offer free holidays and mini breaks for children with cancer and their families. They are often close to major hospitals should the need for a visit arise and the majority are owned or operated by people who have experienced childhood cancer in some way.
UK Holidays for Children With Cancer Read More »
The first full week of February is feeding tube awareness week and until my own child needed a nasogastric tube (NG tube) I hadn’t really come across them very much. Many children who go through treatment for cancer will require tube feeding at some stage, mainly due to loss of appetite. One of the main
How To Tape An NG Tube Read More »
Becoming a chemo mum has a huge impact on your life. Not least because you spend vast quantities of time worrying about all your children. When I’m not worried about the health and well-being of the Dinosaur, I’m worried about the Unicorn and the impact all of this is having on her. On a day-to-day
A Day In The Life Of A Chemo Mum Read More »
We wanted to throw a birthday party for the Dinosaur this year because he’s never had one before but because he has cancer, we needed a non-soft play party. There are a few reasons why we’ve never thrown him a party. First, he was too young so a party seemed a bit pointless, then the
Non Soft Play Birthday Party Ideas Read More »
For the Dinosaur’s 5th birthday we decided to throw him a birthday party. He’s never had one before because he was either too young or there was a global pandemic raging! Due to his cancer diagnosis, we couldn’t take the easy route and have a soft play party where they arrange everything except for the
Children’s Disco Birthday Party Read More »
When your child has leukaemia, they have to have a weekly blood count to monitor their health. Chemotherapy can affect blood production so the full blood count (FBC) can detect whether they need either a red blood cell or platelet transfusion. The FBC also checks the level of neutrophils and white blood cells in the
