The tumour has gone.

After months of gruelling chemotherapy and three months away from home brave little Aaron Lindridge’s family have revealed his treatment has been declared a success.

A scan has confirmed what everyone had desperately hoped – that his cancerous tumour has shrunk to scar tissue and Aaron is now in remission.

But his exhausted family, from Taunton Road, Northfleet, say the much-longed for news will not see too many big celebrations, as the courageous three-year-old still has a very long road ahead of him.

Mum Tracy said: “It doesn’t feel very real for us.
“You want to jump up and down but that fear is in the back of our minds.
“People are saying to me ‘that’s good, it’s over’ but it will never be over for us.”

Aaron’s treatment for rhabdomyosarcomacorr in America was funded by the NHS while a fundraising campaign, supported by the Messenger, enabled the family to take Aaron’s sister Emily with them and manage their expenses while in the US.

If Aaron is able to remain in remission for three years his family have been told he stands a very good chance of the cancer never returning.

But he faces regular appointments to monitor his progress and only time will tell what effect such powerful treatment has had on his tiny body.

For more on this story, see this week's Gravesend Messenger.