A boy started secondary school and treatment for a brain tumour in the same week. Charlie Cox, 11, was diagnosed with grade 2 oligoastrocytoma aged just eight months.
He has faced countless hospital appointments and undergone a variety of treatments, including two brain surgeries and repeated chemotherapy. A scan in February revealed that Charlie had relapsed for a fifth time.
He left mum Kirsty Court, 35, in tears on his first day at Cheam High School, in Sutton, on Monday - just five days after he started treatment again. He began a trial at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton, a form of targeted therapy which will require him to take MEK inhibitors daily for two years, last Wednesday, August 31.
Mum Kirsty, from Cheam, Sutton, said: "He looked so smart, like he was going for a job interview. There have been times when he’s been really poorly on the chemo and asked: ‘why me, mum?’ and that’s really hard but I’ve got to stay positive for him.
"That’s why he’s like he is, because we don’t dwell on the negatives. It’s hit me more now we’re 10 years down the line. Ten years of this is a long time and it does take its toll, but I look at Charlie and think about how well he’s dealt with it."
Mum-of-two Kirsty said although there were 'nerves' for his first day of school, Charlie was "more excited than anything". "His dad walked him to the gate and he was getting a bit too cool for school and asking him to hang back," she said.
Kirsty, an education progress coordinator, has said that Charlie plans to "just get on with it" and he's "very open" about his condition.
She said: "I’ve brought him up like that so he’s happy to talk about it. He’s actually just a sweet, lovely boy, and very likeable so I hope that he does well."
Since his initial diagnosis as a tot, Charlie has continued to relapse. Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer and one in three people know someone affected by a brain tumour, according to Brain Tumour Research.
Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: "Charlie's story is a reminder of the fact brain tumours kill more children than leukaemia and any other cancer yet. Historically, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease.
"Charlie’s already been through more than any child should have to, and although we were saddened to hear about his latest relapse, it was heart-warming to see him in his high school uniform this week. He did indeed look very smart! We wish him the best of luck with his ongoing treatment and hope that he is very happy in his new school."
