After wearing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle mask to help through his radiotherapy, a brave five-year-old cancer patient from Stretford has been cleared by the doctors. Harley Renshaw has been diagnosed of having cancer in his bones, lungs, neck and kidney.
Last year, hospital staff members were surprised when the kid requested if he could alter his protective cover that clutches him to not move while completing his radiotherapy course. He then designed it after his favorite cartoon character's mask and wearing it has helped him a lot to be braver and be stronger.
Harley had just started school when he complained to his parents of a stomach ache and his parents were devastated when he was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, an aggressive and rare childhood cancer that affects less than a hundred kids in the U.K.
Neuroblastoma is cancer of specialized nerve cells, which are engaged in the development of the nervous system. The tumors usually initiate in one of the adrenal glands located above the kidneys, or in nerve tissues that run down the spinal cord, in the pelvis, chest, neck or abdomen. In Harley's case, the cancer can also reach other areas of the body.
After the doctors detected his tumor, Harley faced eighty days of intensive chemotherapy and a surgery to remove the tumor on his kidney. After a month, he was returned to the hospital for a stem cell transplant, a procedure wherein healthy stem cells were injected into his body to restore diseased stem cells. As a result, he experienced complications but fought the disease to go back home for his fifth birthday. He also received weeks of radiotherapy at The Christie clinic in Manchester.
After months of treatment, the doctors have told his parents, Stacey, 23, and Oliver, 25, the good news that Harley is a cancer-free boy. He will be required to have regular check-ups over the next few years to make sure he stays cancer-free.
After the incredible news, Oliver said the whole family is so delighted to be told Harley is free of cancer.
"We're just really excited and looking forward to the future," he said.
Harley Renshaw was a proud recipient of Cancer Research U.K.'s Little Star Awards as his bravery charmed the doctors in the hospital.
He has also been the face of the Kids and Teens Campaign charity, which aspires to collect funds for child cancer research.
