Amber said: “I am massively into sport and am part of the football and netball teams at my school. I also enjoy reading and drama.

As a family we enjoy playing board games, kayaking, and going to the beach to use our paddle boards. We recently went for a break to Momentum’s cabin at Shorefield Park and took our paddle boards with us which was so much fun.

Just before my diagnosis I felt more tired than usual.

 The weekend before I was admitted to hospital for the first time, I remember feeling a lot worse as the weekend went on – I lost my appetite completely and had bad chest pain. Mum took me to the GP who said it was likely glandular fever, but my parents weren’t convinced this was right, so they pushed for me to have some blood tests where they then thought I had Paediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome (PIMS) which is a post-COVID-19 condition.

I was admitted to East Surrey Hospital for three days where they ran further tests and gave me some antibiotics. Ten days later, I was diagnosed with ALL and was transferred to The Royal Marsden Hospital the next morning.

I was nine years old when I received my diagnosis. I knew cancer was an illness, but at the time I didn’t know I could recover and thought I would die. I remember the room at the hospital where I was told the news that I had leukaemia.

Recently at school, we were asked to talk about a time when we showed resilience, and I talked about having cancer treatment. I feel proud that I can talk about it now and I felt comfortable to do this around my peers. When having my treatment if I ever I didn’t feel well at school I was able to log on to lessons from home, my teacher moved some lessons outside, so it was safer for me, or sometimes I wore a mask.

I feel good looking ahead to the new academic year. Now I have had my port-a-cath removed I can get fully stuck into sport again and be more involved and competitive! I can do things with my friends without having to think about the risks and just be a bit more carefree which feels good.”

Amber’s mum, Laura, said:

“I totally broke down when we were given Amber’s cancer diagnosis – I was hysterical. I found it really hard to process it as I was always either with Amber in hospital or looking after my other children. The medical team were amazing though, reassuring us at every stage, and they were confident that Amber’s cancer was curable.

Amber had 10 days of intense chemotherapy as an inpatient which was followed by less frequent sessions and treatment we could administer at home for another two years. She did so well coping with it all even when at one point we spent three weekends in a row in hospital because she had a fever or picked up an infection.

I could not be prouder of Amber and how she has handled everything. She is nothing short of amazing, and one strong girl. She had to endure some tough treatment, but despite this, she had a brilliant school attendance and was there almost 100% of the time.

Both Amber’s primary and secondary schools have been brilliant and incredibly supportive.

Amber completed her treatment in June last year, and the day after her last chemo session we completed a Mud Run as a family, raising £10,000 for The Royal Marsden Hospital.

We were referred to Momentum by The Royal Marsden Hospital. Kerrie, a Family Support Worker from the charity came to our house and talked through the different ways they would be able to help us. Kerrie has been brilliant, especially when I needed to offload or just talk to someone who really understood what we were going through.

Through the Momentum coffee mornings, I have met other parents going through similar experiences – we have been able to share our worries and concerns, offering advice and support to each other. It is a community you never want to be part of, but you end up making some really good friends.

The children have all received painted pebbles from Momentum – Amber has a Harry Potter themed one, her brother has a Pokémon one, and her sister has a beautiful unicorn painted on hers.

We have been on the Momentum boat, which was a lot of fun, especially for the kids. We have had a couple of trips to Momentum’s cabin at Shorefield Park. The first time was just before Amber’s second block of intense treatment was about to start, and we had another trip there this year to mark three years since Amber’s diagnosis. There is plenty to do on site including a swimming pool, an arcade, and playgrounds. We really appreciated these trips, especially in the early days when Amber was just starting her treatment and we didn’t want to be far from home. What Amber really wanted in the early days was to meet another young person like her who was going through what she was. Amber’s school friends were great, but we couldn’t expect any of them to really understand what she was going through at only nine years old. There needs to be a better peer to peer support network in place for children facing a cancer diagnosis.

In many ways, we realise we were the lucky ones with Amber’s diagnosis and recovery. Amber has decided she wants to be a paediatric oncologist when she grows up – I am so proud of her for looking at life so positively in the way she does.

There is a lot of support for families who have children with cancer, but most of this is organised by charities like Momentum, who rely on donations to fund their services. I would encourage anyone to make a donation if they can.”

Story taken July 2025.