A teen who was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of four will run the London Marathon on the day she turns 18.

Amelia Baulch, from Bexleyheath, will be one of the race's youngest entrants when she runs on Sunday to raise money for Young Lives vs Cancer, which has supported her family.

Amelia, who wants to go on to be a journalist, was diagnosed in 2008. She said: "My cancer completely turned my family’s life upside down. I remember my whole journey. I undertook two years of gruelling treatment and was fortunate enough to beat this awful disease.

"It was the hardest time in my whole family’s lives, but I feel if we hadn’t gone through that we wouldn’t be the people we are today. It made us realise how lucky we are after cancer – a lot of people don’t get to live life after cancer. It made me feel grateful and have this different perspective."

Her dad David works for NHS Property Services, which selected Young Lives vs Cancer as its charity partner last year.

He said: "I can still remember them telling us that Amelia had leukaemia like it was yesterday, it was just a shock. We knew something was bad when the hospital room filed up with medical staff, 10 people we’d never seen before just suddenly appeared and they broke the awful news to us.

"All of a sudden we were in a world that we didn’t understand. It felt like we were making life-changing decisions and that’s what was so scary at the time. And you have an overwhelming feeling of helplessness.

"You look at your child who is so poorly, you just want to protect them, take this awful illness away and you can’t. You then go through the ‘why us?’"

Amelia was treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital, and had her first round of chemotherapy on Christmas Day.

David said: "Young Lives vs Cancer were brilliant at giving us guidance and advice when she was first diagnosed. We didn’t know what to do to be honest, the medical and then the financial support we got was amazing.

"Not only are you making some monumental medical decisions to save your child’s life, which is terrifying. It's not until you start getting into the treatment protocol that you realise the hidden cost impact of cancer, due to the fact the treatment is over such a prolonged period of time.

"It was two years and three months for Amelia, so we couldn’t both carry on working, as one of us would need to be a full time carer for Amelia, there was hospital car parking, the London congestion charge everyday travelling to and from the hospital.

"A lot of families don’t get an after story, and if I can in anyway help contribute to the charity and other young people being supported then I want to do that"

"It’s not until you are plunged into this world that you realise this impact. Young Lives vs Cancer were great at providing financial advice to help us.

"It was absolutely brilliant the charity were there. I don’t know where we would have turned to if it hadn’t been. The situation we were in could have been even worse than it was. It’s horrendous enough as it is.

"I think a situation like this makes you appreciate what you have in the world and you stop taking things for granted. I think it’s made Amelia realise that you only get one chance at life so you should go after it and not let something like this hold you back.”

Amelia will be running the marathon with dad David. It will be his fourth time taking part and Amelia's first. As the minimum age an entrant can be is 18 on the day of the marathon, Amelia will one of the youngest runners.

David said: "For me it’s about Amelia running it, she’s the driving force behind it and I am rightly the tag along. And that’s the way it should be.

"It will be her 18th birthday and it’s her story. She’s the one who lived through cancer, she is absolutely amazing and I’m nothing but so incredibly proud of her."

Sixth form student Amelia, who has now been cancer free for 10 years, said: "We didn’t know how to react or how we were going to cope with cancer until many organisations including Young Lives vs Cancer helped us.

"What Young Lives vs Cancer do, it genuinely inspires me so much, a lot of families don’t get an after story, and if I can in any way help contribute to the charity and other young people being supported then I want to do that.

"I will be one of the youngest people running on the day of the London Marathon. When I found it was on my 18th birthday it felt like fate! I truly thought this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity to give back to a charity that helped me so much. I am so lucky to have the support of everyone around me."

To support Amelia and David, click here.

In the UK, 12 children and young people are diagnosed with cancer every day. Often treatment will start immediately, and will be given miles away from home and can last up to three years.

The charity Young Lives vs Cancer helps people with cancer aged from zero to 25, and their families by providing specialist support and helping with the costs associated with the disease.

Last year, the charity helped 134 Kent families, and gave out 112 financial grants at a total of £23,820 to families dealing with cancer.

A report by Young Lives vs Cancer found that families with a child on active treatment spend an extra £600 a month. The charity said that it expects this figure to rise rapidly, due to rising prices of petrol, food, and energy bills.

It also has a number of Homes from Home, which are free places for families to stay nearby to their child's hospital, to help them avoid extra costs on travel, accommodation and food.

The London Marathon is taking place this Sunday, October 2.