Boy wins his cancer battle
James Sandifer has endured two years of hell - at just 11 years old the Lowton High School pupil was diagnosed with osteosarcoma – a malignant bone cancer in his right leg.
The leg had swelled up to three times its normal size and, worse still, the cancer had spread to his lung.
Now after 12 months of chemotherapy, an operation to replace his right femur with a titanium prosthesis, and three operations to remove 26 tumours from his lungs, James is fighting fit.
In support of James, staff at Wigan and Leigh College held a "bring a pound to work day" to raise money for charity CLIC Sargent, which cares for children and young people in hospitals and the community.
The special day raised more than 500 for the cause.
James's mum Christine, from Medway Close, Lowton, said: "We just wanted to say a big thank you to everybody who has supported us. We could not have got through it without help.
"It was frightening at the time. James didn't understand how serious it was and I didn't want to scare him but we just focused on when it would all be over. It's a rare disease and rarer in children.
"He was also double unlucky because it had spread to his lung but the chemotherapy was 100% effective so we're lucky."
Christine thanked Wigan and Leigh College for allowing her to take 12 months off work to care for James.
She also praised social worker Elizabeth Banberry at Pendlebury
Children's Hospital, which is funded by CLIC. Christine said: "She was fantastic, she'd help me fill forms in and even organised a trip to Wales so that we could spend time as a family."
James, now 13, is back full time at school. He said: "I'm feeling all right but there's still some stuff I can't do.
"The treatment was tough and I'd be in all week and then home at the weekend. I didn't want to go back but I had to make myself."
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Weather for Wigan
Saturday 04 February 2012
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