Family of boy, 2, in desperate plea for £200,000 revolutionary cancer treatment

03 March 2024 , 22:52

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The family have now set up a JustGiving page in a bid to raise £200,000 for Louie to undergo the treatment in America after his immunotherapy (Image: HullLive/MEN)

A family of a two-year-old boy from Hull are attempting to raise £200,000 for him to undergo "revolutionary" cancer treatment in the US after a 17cm aggressive tumour was found in his stomach.

Louie Turner is "full of life" according to his loved ones, but was sadly last year diagnosed with stage three, high risk neuroblastoma cancer. Now, his "petrified" parents want to take him to the Atlantic to give him the best chance of survival.

The devastating diagnosis came after Louie began suffering with constipation, sickness and fatigue, among other symptoms. Louie's grandmother, Sally Turner, said: "He was becoming more lethargic and had gone off his food, but other than that he was himself, the happy baby he always has been, running around, cheeky and full of life. We'd had him at the doctors a few times because he had eczema as well.

"During the last visit at the doctors I explained his symptoms and the doctor said, 'if he starts vomiting take him to A&E', and a couple of days later he started vomiting."

Louie's family are now hoping to take him to the USA for treatment (HullLive/MEN)

Louie's family took him to A&E in Hull, where doctors conducted an X-ray. The following day, they received a phone call from a consultant who expressed concern and asked for Louie to return to hospital to undergo an ultrasound scan. She added: "My daughter-in-law took him back to hospital for the scan and was told there and then they thought it was a mass in his stomach. It all went downhill from there, it turned out to be a 17cm tumour."

Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him

The little boy was taken to Leeds Children's Hospital to have eight rounds of induction chemotherapy. He then had a ten-hour surgery to remove the tumour, when doctors were able to take away most of the mass. Dad Daniel, 29, explained: "Doctors had to leave five millimetres of the tumour in his stomach because it was encased in a vein going up to his liver and difficult to remove."

The little boy then began a course of high-dose chemotherapy and spent two months in hospital due to the effects of the chemotherapy on his digestive system, when he was fed through an IV drip. He also underwent a course of radiotherapy.

However, according to HullLive, the remaining tumour still has not reduced in size, Daniel said. Louie is now back at his home in Hull and undergoing immunotherapy, which will finish in July. Daniel said: "The best-case scenario is that the tumour has died by then, but there's still a 35 percent chance of relapse, and if he does relapse there isn't really a cure to offer him in the UK. If the tumour hasn't died by the end of immunotherapy, there's a 50 per cent chance of it growing back.

"We're absolutely petrified of losing him so we want to do all we can for him. There's a new drug in the US which has been approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), and there's some good data to show it helps to get rid of the cancer if there's any left, which we think there will be at the end of Louie's immunotherapy. But it also helps to reduce the chance of relapse, so we're fundraising to go to America."

The family have now set up a JustGiving page in a bid to raise £200,000 for Louie to undergo the treatment in America after his immunotherapy. The description reads: "Up until 19 months of age, Louie was a happy and healthy little boy. He was very active, he loved playing outside, going to the beach and playground, and loved his food – his favourite was cottage pie which he would manage to get everywhere.

"Our world was turned upside down when Louie was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer. The cancer is high-risk neuroblastoma, and at diagnosis, there was a 50 per cent chance of long-term survival. Since then, Louie has had so much treatment, he has suffered so much, but has still managed to keep his smile throughout. He has had eight rounds of Chemotherapy, a 10 hour surgery, high-dose chemotherapy and radiotherapy. He has just started immunotherapy.

"Initially, the 17cm-long tumour responded very well to treatment and after initial chemotherapy and surgery in October, the tumour was only 0.5 cm. However, the tumour has not responded to treatment since then, and remains that size and is still an active tumour. If the tumour is not dead upon completing immunotherapy, there remains only a 50 per cent chance of long-term survival.

"If Louie enters remission before the end of his treatment, there is still a 35 per cent chance of relapse. We have been told there is currently no cure available in the UK in the event of relapse. We can't sit and hope for the best – we need to act and we need your help. There is a treatment available in the US which has just been approved by the FDA.

"Early data suggests this treatment, DFMO, is very effective at helping to treat the cancer and in preventing relapse. We are aiming to raise £200,000 in five months to make sure we give Louie the best chance of survival and get him to the US for treatment. We would really appreciate it if you could spread our story and donate if you can comfortably do so. Thank you."

Lauren Davidson