An Edenbridge mother has been able to meet the Health Secretary Sajid Javid in an attempt to persuade him to bring a life-saving cancer vaccine currently only available in the US to the UK.

The meeting on Monday was arranged by Tonbridge and Malling MP, Tom Tugendhat.

Claire Scott's own son Liam was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare type of cancer that mostly affects babies and young children, in 2019, the day after his sister Kylie was born. He was just three years old.

There followed a year of intense chemotherapy, weekly blood transfusions and a six-hour operation to remove a tumour.

But with the cancer in remission, the family was told there was a good chance it could return.

After hearing of the experimental bivalent vaccine treatment available in the US, she and her husband Michael launched an appeal to raise the £232,000 necessary for Liam to travel to New York for the treatment.

Their appeal received high publicity after it was backed by the former Dagenham and Redbridge football player Charlie Holmes and eventually the money was raised.

Today, Liam, aged five, is cancer free and "getting stronger every day" and has been able to return to school.

Mrs Scott said she wanted to persuade Mr Javid to adopt the treatment for the NHS to help dozens of other families who were now facing the same struggle.

She said afterwards Mr Javid had been "extremely sympathetic and compassionate."

She said: “I told him what we had been though and how hard it is to watch your child suffering.

“I mentioned the cost and the stressful time we went through in terms of fundraising, especially during lockdown."

She said: “And I mentioned that there are so many families going through this and it’s devastating – you are looking after a very ill child and you also have the stress of fundraising and the parents are traumatised.”

Mrs Scott believes there are around 45 children in the UK with neuroblastoma whose families are currently trying to raise money to fund the same vaccine Liam had.

The Health Secretary assured her his team was looking into the experimental cancer vaccine and the possibility of bringing it to the UK.

She said: "I really feel that he really wants to get this going - and he said he would love to meet Liam!”

Mrs Scott said: "When Liam was going through his treatments, when we were going through the fundraising, those were the most difficult days of my life."

She said: “I would feel like all of that meant something if it helped to cure others of the disease and get the vaccine available to all who need it.”

The family had obtain special exemption from the US government's Covid-19 travel ban so that Liam could travel to and from the States during 2020, when the world was in lockdown.

Tom Tugendhat MP said: "From the first time I spoke with Claire, I could see the passion and drive she had not only to help her son, but also to change the way we look for new ways to care for those in our community who need it most.

"Her love for her son has pushed her to do so much and open new paths. I was amazed and humbled by the number of people who reached out to help them. I was happy to do what I could.

"After speaking with Claire I got in touch with the Health Secretary who kindly offered to meet in person.

Mr Tugendhat said: “It was a really productive meeting and I look forward to helping Claire in any way I can moving forward.”

The cause of neuroblastoma is unknown. There are very rare cases where children in the same family are affected, but generally neuroblastoma does not run in families.

Symptoms can include a swollen, painful tummy, sometimes with constipation and difficulty urinating, breathlessness, difficulty swallowing, a lump in the neck, particularly around the eyes, weakness in the legs and an unsteady walk, and weight loss.