A woman who was told she had 'growing pains' as a child lost her leg to cancer. Megan Squire was 11 when she started to feel pain and fatigue in her right leg.
Her mum Dianne took her to see her GP on many occasions and she was told it was simply growing pains. But the pain continued for months and Megan, from Maghull, Merseyside, was eventually referred for a scan.
It was then that they were told Megan had a form of bone cancer called Ewing sarcoma. Megan was in her first year of secondary school at the time and went straight on to chemotherapy at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool, losing her hair.
And she had to deal with an extreme reaction to the treatment. It was initially thought she had a bleed on the brain and she went into a coma. Megan's doctors had only seen one other child have the same reaction before and were very worried.
But she recovered and continued with chemo, yet the tumour didn't shrink. Doctors had to make the heartbreaking decision to remove her right leg and an operation took place at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham.
She then returned to Alder Hey to begin a long recovery road, involving more chemo and a stem cell transplant. Megan then had to learn how to walk with a prosthetic leg before her family raised and amazing £52,000 to buy her a robotic leg, reports the LiverpoolECHO.
Megan had to wait until she was 16 to be fitted with the robotic leg, which proved to be transformational. Megan was able to return to school in 2012 having missed a full academic year.
She found getting back to normality a challenge, but remained determined to catch-up and lead a full life. Today Megan, now 23, enjoys a busy life working at Matalan’s head office in Knowsley and spending time with her boyfriend Nathan, with whom she has been best friends since they were 16.
She has shared her story during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month to help support Cancer Research UK for Children & Young People, which funds vital research to improve survival and reduce long-term side effects for young cancer patients.
Megan said: "Looking back, it was a really hard time for me and my family. But we had to focus on the treatment and the long road ahead.
"Facing a cancer diagnosis as a youngster is devastating. But I feel lucky to be living a great life now and I have a very different perspective. Research into cancer is vital and has helped me to survive.”
Megan is urging people to clear out their wardrobes as part of TK Maxx’s Give Up Clothes for Good campaign to help more children survive cancer. When sold in Cancer Research UK shops, each bag of items donated could raise up to £25 or £31 with Retail Gift Aid.
Alder Hey Children’s Hospital is one of the many centres across the UK taking part in ground-breaking clinical trials coordinated by Cancer Research UK’s Children's Cancer Trials Team. These trials make innovative new treatments available to children with cancer in Liverpool/across the region.
Thanks in part to the work of Cancer Research UK, children's cancer survival has more than doubled in the UK since the 1970s, when just over a third of children diagnosed survived beyond ten years. Today, it's around 8 in 10 - but there’s still much further to go.
Cancer Research UK spokesperson for the North West, Jane Bullock, said: “We’re grateful to Megan and her family for their support. Cancer in children and young people is different to cancer in adults – from the types of cancer to the impact of treatment and the long-term side effects survivors often experience. So, it needs more research which campaigns like Give Up Clothes for Good help to fund.
“We want to help ensure more people under the age of 25 in the North West and across the UK, survive cancer with a good quality of life. That’s why we hope as many people as possible will show their support and donate any quality clothes or goods to their local TK Maxx store. Not only could they help to save lives, they’ll also be reducing their environmental impact by giving their pre-loved items another lease of life.”
For more information about the Give Up Clothes for Good campaign click here.
