Remarkable Recovery of Toddler whose Body was Covered in 27 Tumours from Head to Ankle

When the results of 18-month-old Kian Musgrove's full body scan came through, doctors feared the worst for the youngster. 

The image, taken at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary, was covered in 27 black spots on his legs, lymph nodes, spine and skull. Each one was a tumour.

But after 10 weeks of gruelling chemotherapy and a number of surgeries, the cancer appears to have gone. 

His relieved mum Kat, 26, who lives in Newcastle, said: ‘Kian has been absolutely amazing. He has fought through this incredibly well.

‘When the doctors said they couldn’t see any of the tumours anymore, it was such a relief. To think that he has fought off 27 tumours is just incredible.’

 

 

Reocvery: Kian Musgrove is showing no signs of the neoblastoma he was diagnosed with last year

 

Kian first started being unwell last summer whilst on a family holiday to Turkey with his mum and sister Katie, four.

Miss Musgrove said: ‘He woke up one morning whilst we were on holiday and he just couldn’t seem to get his balance. The following day he had a high temperature and I thought he had picked up a virus so I took him to the doctors there.

‘They said he was just teething and we were due to fly home later that day so we got on the plane and came home. When we arrived home he was screaming so much in pain and it wasn’t like him so I took him straight to hospital.’

When he got to hospital doctors x-rayed him to see if he had broken any bones, which he hadn’t, so he was sent home again. 

Covered: The scan revealed he had 27 tumours, the only parts of his body not affected were his hands and feet

 

But he carried on getting worse. Miss Musgrove took him back to the doctors another six times, and each time he was sent home after she was told it was just a virus.

She said: ‘I knew there was something wrong with Kian, but each time the doctors sent him home insisting it was just a virus.’

After Kian still wasn’t any better after eight weeks, Miss Musgrove took him to the Royal Victoria Infirmary where they took blood tests.

She said: ‘I was at my wits end by then. Kian was just lifeless in my arms and whimpering. They had a terrible time trying to get blood out of him as his blood was just clotthing immediately. Initially they thought he had a bone infection, so they kept him in.’

But then tests revealed that he had cancerous cells in his body. They broke the devastating news to Miss Musgrove that Kian actually had cancer.  

Hospital: Kian went through 10 weeks of treatments including radiotherapy and a number of surgeries

She said: ‘My world just fell apart when they told me had cancer. It was the biggest shock of my life. I just couldn’t take it in.

‘All those times when I’d taken him to the doctors and they’d said it was just a virus. When all along he’d been fighting cancer.’

A scan revealed the terrible extent of his disease. Tumours were raging all around his body.

Miss Musgrove said: ‘I nearly fainted when I saw his full body scan photos. It was just a mass of black everywhere. It was in his bones all over his body. The only place where there were no tumours were his hands and feet.’

Kian started chemotherapy straight away. He had ten weeks of intensive treatment then he had operations to remove a tumour in his adrenal gland and one on his lymph nodes.

Then he had his own stem cells removed, followed by high dose chemotherapy treatment again. Then he had a stem cell transplant.

Now after his massive battle, there are no sign of the 27 tumours. He is still having radiotherapy treatment as neuroblastoma cancer in children can recur.

Kat said: ‘We can’t believe he has done so well. There is a possibility of the cancer coming back so we are fundraising to take him to America for treatment that isn’t available over here.

‘He has done so well so far, and we want to give him every possible chance in the future which is why we are fundraising to take him to America.' 

Family: Kian, pictured with his four-year-old sister Katie, developed the symptons last August while on holiday

NEUROBLASTOMA - THE RARE CANCER WHICH IMPACTS THE UNDER FIVES 

.Neuroblastoma is a rare childhood cancer which develops from nerve cells called neuroblasts.

.It usually starts in the child's abdomen, often developing in the adrenal glands above the kidneys.

.It can then spread to other areas such as the bones, liver and skin.

.The cancer affects about 100 children in the UK each year and is usually diagnosed in under-5s.

.It is the most common form of solid tumour cancer in childhood after brain tumours.

.The symptoms depend on where the cancer is and whether it has spread.

Initial symptoms often include aches and pains and loss of appetite.

.The most common symptom when the cancer has developed is a lump or swelling in the child's abdomen.

.Other possible symptoms are a lump in the child's neck, bone pain, weakness in the child's lower body, anaemia and bluish lumps in the skin.

Because the early symptoms are vague, the cancer is often not diagnosed until it has spread around the body.

.The outlook is better if the child is younger and the cancer is slower growing.

.It is common for the cancer to return after treatment and treatment tends to be less successful in older children.

Source: NHS Choices