Rhianna Benson
In summer 2024, in the midst of sitting her GCSEs and at the height of her competitive cheerleading career, Morgane Grappy was dealt a diagnosis that turned her life upside down.
The 14-year-old was informed she had rhabdomyosarcoma - a rare and aggressive cancer that required urgent treatment.
In the weeks prior, the east London local had only noticed one rather obscure physical indicator of the disease, which she originally hoped to brush off.
With her knack for sport often seeing Grappy reliant on her hands and feet, she quickly noticed when a mysterious lump appeared, right in the middle of her right palm.
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The lesion emerged whilst the youngster was partaking a competition in Florida, in the US, and became increasingly painful as the week continued.
Hoping it was nothing of concern, yet trusting her gut, the youngster booked an appointment with her GP. This decision, Grappy would later discover, would save her life.
"I didn’t feel anything. I was just getting on with it," she later told press. "Then, around a month after I got back, I noticed a lump and we went to the GP, who told us to get an ultrasound.
"My hand was hurting, but I didn’t really think anything of it."
Despite an initial ultrasound failing to identify anything wrong, doctors thought it best to send the teen for a biopsy, after which her mother, Claire, and father, Edwin, 'found out everything'.
The couple were the first to be told of Grappy's diagnosis, a rare cancer of the body's voluntary muscles, which starts as a growth of cells in soft tissue.
They were also informed that their daughter needed treatment, but were left conflicted, knowing she had a cheerleading competition coming up.
Aware the news would destroy the youngster's chances of success, they decided to wait.
"It was the worst 72 hours of my life," Claire recently recalled. She kept smiling at me, and I’m like: 'I know that you have cancer, and I can’t tell you.' It was just very, very sad."
After finally learning of her condition, Grappy claims she was left unsure 'how to react'. She knew she'd have to undergo emergency treatment, but also bitterly aware that it'd put an end to her cheerleading career, as well as affect her schooling and friendships.
"It was really hard," she said, looking back. "Because I was going into the gym and supporting my team and everything, but it was just so hard watching them, knowing that I can’t do this at the moment."
The following 14 months saw Grappy undergo chemotherapy, radiotherapy, as well as surgery on her hand to remove the lump.
Thankfully, the treatments all proved successful, and now, the teen is back to cheerleading on an international level, having received an offer from her coach that made her 'burst into tears'.
She's also sitting the exams she was forced to postpone - something she previously dreaded, but now sees as a blessing.
"One of my teachers did say to me, when I was in Year 10, 'Are you going to resit the whole of Year 10?'," a now-healthy Grappy explained. "I was like, 'Not at al'. I wanted to get through Year 11 and pass all my GCSEs.
"It’s actually not as hard as I thought it would be."
She went on to admit: "There is stuff where I do think, 'Woah, this is overwhelming', like I’m getting ten emails to do all this homework. But overall, I’m actually happy to be back and be back in my own routine.
"And my grades are actually very good."
And to top things off, she's already been accepted at the Retail Fashion Academy in Moorgate, where she'll start in September.
"I definitely think it taught me who my real friends are, and it just taught me to live life as much as I can, and appreciate my health," she added.
Given her turbulent experience, Grappy is now setting out to raise awareness of the Cancer Research UK for Children & Young People Star Awards, after being bestowed with the accolade last year that celebrates the courage of children who have been diagnosed with cancer.