A mum whose five-year-old son is going through treatment for leukaemia is raising awareness of the hidden emotional and mental health impacts a childhood cancer diagnosis can have on families.

Rachel Lucas, of Holmside Avenue, Halfway, was given the devastating news her son Harry had leukaemia in 2015.

Since then Mrs Lucas, her husband Gary and their nine-year-old daughter Amelia-Rose have watched him go through treatment including transfusions, operations, chemotherapy and even a stay in intensive care, which left Mrs Lucas so overwhelmed she could not speak, eat or drink.

The 37-year-old said: “It was hard to get my head around the fact the lifesaving chemo Harry needed would make him much more unwell to begin with.

“And when your child is in treatment, you’re worried and constantly on edge, but Harry is so young he’s never really understood how poorly he is.

“The worst time for us was when he was in intensive care. We honestly thought we were going to lose him.

“I was so stressed and upset, I stopped speaking. I couldn’t eat or sleep or function at all. Emotion just took over.

“As a family we were ripped in half by it all.”

Mrs Lucas has shared her experiences as part of a campaign by the children and young people’s cancer support charity CLIC Sargent, which conducted a parent survey coinciding with Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

It found during their child’s cancer treatment, six in 10 parents experience depression and more than a third suffer panic attacks. However, less than 40% accessed support for managing stress and anxiety.

Mrs Lucas said the support from CLIC Sargent support worker Lucy Hill helped her family through their ordeal.

“I’m not really one to talk about my feelings and it can be hard to say you need help when you’re trying to stay strong for your child, but talking has made a real difference,” she said.

“Lucy has been amazing, she gives great advice. I feel like I can say anything to her, share any worries and I’m at complete ease.”

She also praised the support Ms Hill gave to daughter Amelia-Rose, particularly helping her understand how treatment would affect Harry. “I don’t know how we would have coped without Lucy and the extra support from our CLIC Sargent nurses.”

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