A schoolboy who fought the challenge of his life after finding a lump on his neck is "getting back to how he was before".
Alfie Yardley, from Widnes was taken to the doctors by his mum in October 2020 after she found a large lump on his neck. He was given a course of antibiotics but nothing improved after five days.
Alfie returned to hospital five days later and underwent an ultrasound test before undergoing a biopsy to remove a lymph node in his neck. Tests confirmed the then 10-year-old had stage three nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
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Nasopharyngeal cancer is a rare type of cancer that affects the part of the throat connecting the back of the nose to the back of the mouth. At the time of Alfie's diagnosis Alfie's Auntie, Vicki, said the family was "devastated".
She told The ECHO: "The wait for the results was a horrendous time and on October 27 we were given the devastating news that it wasn't lymphoma and that Alfie has a stage three nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Luckily it hasn't spread any further than his head and neck and his consultant is confident that it’s treatable and he will be cured.
"He’s a fighter - as they call him down the rugby club ‘The Enforcer’."
After a year of intense chemotherapy, proton beam therapy and immunotherapy, Alfie was given the all clear in August 2021 and he rang the bell in Alder Hey Children's Hospital. Laura Cowen, 38, Alfie's mum, told The ECHO about the day her son was told he was in remission.
She said: "It was just the best news ever. Just to start getting him back to how he was before all of this happened. All the treatment really took it out of him.
"It's amazing to see he's now back playing rugby and football again. He's now been in remission for 18 months and has a maintenance scan on Tuesday, May 9 just to check.
"I have to say a big thank you to everyone that supported us during that time in the pandemic and all of the Owen McVeigh Foundation and the staff at Alder Hey."
Now 12-year-old Alfie will be attempting to walk up Snowden to raise money for a charity they supported him and his family, the Owen McVeigh Foundation. The charity provides life changing memories for Merseyside children and their families who are fighting cancer.
Laura continued: "They [Owen McVeigh Foundation] just basically had stuff to enrich the lives of the kids on the ward [in Alder Hey]. They would do activities with them, give the all sorts of memorabilia like Alfie got a Liverpool shirt signed by Virgil Van Dijk.
"Some of the kids went on one in a lifetime holidays, we got to go on trips to the Peacock Lodge retreat and LFC games. Even now they are still in contact with us and we just wanted to give something back really.
"It might be a little bit of a struggle for Alfie as he's been diagnosed with osgood-schlatters [a condition that causes pain and swelling below the knee joint]"
To donate to Alfie's JustGiving page, click here.
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