My nephew Zayn, was born at Mayday hospital in December 2015. He had a small lump on his neck, which the doctors advised was nothing serious and just needed to be monitored.

Over the next year the lump grew to the size of a grapefruit, at which point he was referred to St. Georges Hospital, where an MRI was performed and a biopsy was taken. The biopsy concluded the lump was in fact caused by a rare and aggressive form of cancer: rhabdomyosarcoma. Due to the size and location of the lump, it was not possible to operate on and remove. So he began an intensive course of chemotherapy.

Soon after the second course of chemo, Zayn suffered a rare and serious reaction which caused acute liver failure. The reaction was so severe that the medical team advised that there was nothing further they could do and we should prepare for the worse. Zayn was given 24 hrs to live as his liver, kidneys and lungs had failed.

But Zayn is a fighter. He fought back and pulled through.

He has endured further chemotherapy which has led to the lump shrinking and the cancer being controlled. But chemotherapy alone is not enough to beat the cancer.

The lump is now at a size and Zayn old enough (23 months), that surgeons believe now is the time to operate. However, due to nature of the cancer, Zayns age and the location of the tumor, a specialised form of radiotherapy called brachytherapy is needed. Brachytherapy is targeted and precise, and much safer for young children. But this therapy is not available in the UK.

The joint medical team, applied for Zayn to receive treatment at the EMMA hospital in Holland. Zayn has been accepted by the hospital and the surgery scheduled. The medical team also applied for funding over 6 weeks ago and were confident it would be provided in time, however the funding has still not been approved and time is running out.

Update: 15/11/17 - NHS Funding has been denied. No reason has been provided at this stage. There may be an option to appeal, but given the speed at which things progress, it is very unlikely that an appeal would help Zayn in any way.

The medical team in Holland, have given a deadline of Tuesday 14th November for us to provide payment otherwise Zayn will lose his appointment.

It is the opinion of the joint medical team, that the operation and treatment in Holland is critical. Zayns cancer is very aggressive and will potentially become resistant to the chemotherapy available in the UK.

If you are able to donate anything at all, we would be eternally grateful.

Please share this page with your friends and family. Any help you can give will help get Zayn the treatment he desperately needs.