“Caben is the most loveable, kind boy you could meet. He loves painting rocks, climbing, going on adventures, and gaming. Caben is autistic so he struggles in social situations and with meeting new people.

It was on 22 April last year that we first noticed Caben wasn’t well. He hated school, so every day was quite traumatic as he had real anxiety about going in. He kept getting tummy ache, which we initially linked to anxiety, but this was followed by him picking up several infections. In the end, we took Caben to A&E at St Helier Hospital in Carshalton because he was in so much pain. We were seen by a consultant who found a lump on Caben’s stomach, so he was given a blood test. I was pushing for them to give Caben a scan, but we were sent home and were given a date to return the following week.  The scan found a lesion on his liver, and we were referred to King’s Hospital where Caben had two weeks of daily MRIs, blood tests and other checks.

On 8 May we had an appointment at The Royal Marsden Hospital where we were told Caben had sarcoma cancer, but they didn’t tell us which type. The very next day, the tumour ruptured, and Caben was rushed to King’s Hospital, where it was discovered his tumour had grown to 25cm. Caben had emergency surgery to remove the whole tumour, a quarter of his liver, and his gallbladder. Caben spent the following 10 days in the high dependency unit. It was here that we were given Caben’s exact diagnosis of embryonal sarcoma of the liver.

When we received Caben’s diagnosis we were in complete shock and disbelief. I remember feeling like I was floating and like it wasn’t happening to us. I knew I had to be strong, but it was hard to hear – my partner had leukaemia when he was 19, so we’d been through a lot already.

We told Caben it was his ‘bug’ and he only recently asked if he had cancer, so I had to explain it to him. My eldest daughter understood Caben’s illness, but my youngest was only three and didn’t have a clue what was happening.

When Caben was well enough, we were transferred to St. George’s Hospital where he had his Hickman line fitted, ready for his chemotherapy cycles at The Royal Marsden Hospital. Caben started the first of nine cycles of intense chemo on 1 June and finished on 14 December.

At this time, we also found out that Caben has Li-Fraumeni Syndrome which means he is 80% more likely to get multiple cancers throughout his life. He is under the care of Great Ormond Street Hospital for this, where he will have four brain scans and four MRI scans a year for life. Caben also has quarterly scans at the Marsden, which will continue for the next 10 years.

We found out about Momentum when we were admitted to St George’s Hospital because Caben had picked up an infection. Cameron, one of Momentum’s Family Support Workers, came up to us to check we were ok and to tell us about the charity and how they could help. Caben would call Cameron ‘the green man’ – the two of them would play games and race against each other on Super Mario. Caben and Cameron built a strong bond – Cameron would get Caben talking, he felt comfortable with him, talking and joking around together. Cameron was always so positive and uplifting. Whenever Caben picked up an infection, he would be happy and would say ‘I get to see green man’.

As well as the endless support Cameron has given us, we’ve had boat trips with Momentum, a visit from Santa at home, tickets to see Shrek The Musical, and all three of the children received chocolate advent calendars from Momentum in December.

On February 4 this year, which was Caben’s birthday and World Cancer Day, Caben rang the bell at the hospital to signify the end of his cancer treatment. Caben picked his four favourite people to attend the bellringing, one of which was Cameron.

We have just had a trip to Disneyland Paris – somewhere Caben had always dreamed of going to. It was absolutely magical – we were all in our Disney bubble enjoying it and taking in every moment with the biggest smiles on our faces. We were able to go on every ride multiple times. Caben’s favourite rides were the Ratatouille and Peter Pan ones. Thankfully, we had a priority card which meant no queuing for us. The parade and fireworks were just so magical – the trip was a dream come true. When we got home, Caben asked if we could go back in five weeks because he loved it so much!

My advice for other families at the start of their journey would be to take each day as it comes and try to stay positive. Ringing the bell at the hospital was a big thing for Caben and it was what he was aiming for. The teams at the Marsden and St George’s were amazing and the hospitals felt like a second home. There are lots of parents going through the similar experiences at the hospitals, so you can relate and support each other. Take help from friends, family and charities like Momentum.”