Patient stories

Coping with the diagnosis of leukaemia and the subsequent treatment and uncertainties is extremely difficult for children and their families.

Leukaemia affects each child and their family in different ways.

Below are the stories from families who have kindly offered to share their experiences to help others understand what it’s like to live with leukaemia.

If you would like to share your story, please email us your experience and contact details.

Hollie O'Brien

Hollie O’Brien was only four years old when she passed away, just four weeks after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Hollie's grandmother, Wendy, shares her story with us.

Charlotte Hutchinson

Charlotte, award-winning Horley Town girls player, before her diagnosis

It came as a terrible shock to the Hutchinson family when their active 13 year-old daughter Charlotte was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Charlotte’s mother Pam shares their experience in her own words.

Louisa Buttery

Louisa Buttery was only three weeks old when she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia. Her parents Darren and Davina tell us their story.

Hollie Robinson

Hollie Robinson was four when she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). She is now 14 and has been in remission for 10 years. In her own words, she shares her experience of living with the disease.

Bethan Ayliff

Bethan was just four years old when she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). "Not something you would expect to happen to your four year old daughter” Bethan’s mother Andrea Ayliff explains “but unfortunately it can and does happen.”

Liam Taylor

Karen Taylor describes the Christmas of 2003 when her son Liam, then age three and half, was diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia as “the time our lives as a family would change and not for the better.”

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