NHS gene check is helping children with cancer

Eddie, from London, was six when he became unwell with unexplained fevers and breathlessness.

A chest x-ray revealed a huge mass on Eddie’s chest – half the size of his lung. More tests revealed it was a type of leukaemia known as T-ALL, a sub-type of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Hi mum Harri said: “You really don’t think it will ever happen to your child.

“It felt like our world fell out from under us. During those first few weeks, I remember wondering if this was it, I was taking so many photos of us together and wondering if it could be the last.”

Eddie and his family were offered WGS as part of his treatment at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

Harri said: “We didn’t even hesitate. I wanted to have all the information, I wanted to have some peace of mind for the future and know that Eddie was having the right care throughout.

“I also wanted to make sure that Eddie’s brother, Leo, wasn’t any more likely to get T-ALL because Eddie had.”