Amy was diagnosed with a very rare type of blood cancer, in August 2018, at just 8 years old. During her two and half years of treatment she lost her blonde hair and missed large chunks of school. Now 11, Amy is thriving in senior school, she finished maintenance treatment just over a year ago and is back to playing all the sports she loves.

She wanted to share a poem she wrote about her experience. We think you will agree that her determination to pull through and take ownership of her journey is a real inspiration to anyone going through a difficult time.

We shared this on International Childhood Cancer Day, to show that we were thinking of the five children and their families who will receive a cancer diagnosis in the UK each day and every family living through their own cancer journey.

This isn’t her Choice

She trudges through the deserted corridors,
Echoing with sad, ghastly screams,
She finds her bleak room and her hospital bed,
This isn’t where she wants to be. This isn’t her choice.

She wishes she could be set free into the world,
Like a normal girl; carefree and happy,
Not bound by restrictions and rules,
She wants to choose how to live. This isn’t her choice.

Her pale face looks like a porcelain doll,
Endless needles pierce her delicate skin,
The monotonous beeping of the machines is her lullaby at night,
She doesn’t deserve this. This isn’t her choice.

As the salty tears stream down her fragile cheeks,
She tries to make sense of the muffled voices around her,
But with bravery, determinations and resilience,
She will survive this. That is her choice.