A mum has issued a warning and shared an unusual symptom her son showed before he was diagnosed with cancer.
Stacie Hart and Ben Martin, both 32, went through the ‘worst time of their lives’ after a 5cm Wilms tumour was found on their son Jaxon’s kidney in October 2023 – with the mass being ‘a lot larger’ than the organ itself.
The little boy went through five rounds of chemotherapy before having the kidney and tumour removed in November.
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Thankfully, he was given the all-clear just two days before Christmas, with his family now determined to spread the word about his journey so that others can also look out for the warning signs that could save a life.
“We got the all-clear on Friday before Christmas and everyone said it was a Christmas miracle,” she told PA Real Life.
“These last months cannot compare to anything else we’ve been through.
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“I just cannot believe what he has been through and that he’s just taken it on the chin. When he goes to bed or has a shower that’s when I’ll have a good cry.
“But when he’s awake and watching we don’t let any of that happen.”
Former nanny Stacie noticed Jaxon, who was 16 months old at the time, had a chesty cough and wheezy chest.
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She then went to change his nappy and found ‘really dark urine’, saying: “I thought it’s really difficult to get a face-to-face GP appointment, so I took Jaxon to work and said to my boss who’s a GP, ‘can I show you this nappy?’
“I’ve been a nanny for over 10 years and I’ve never seen a nappy like that, I’m really worried that it’s blood, but he was more concerned about his breathing.”
The GP told Stacie to take Jaxon to St Helier Hospital in Sutton immediately to have his chest and urine checked at A&E.
“We were sitting for four-and-a-half hours with a pot under Jaxon waiting for a urine sample because babies don’t pee on command,” she continued.
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“They were almost going to send us home but then thankfully he weed and it looked as dark as Coca-Cola.”
An ultrasound scan revealed a mass on his right kidney, which left Stacie ‘assuming the worst’.
On 2 October, he was diagnosed with a Wilms tumour - a type of kidney cancer that affects around 80 children in the UK a year, according to Cancer Research UK.
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“I didn’t know what a Wilms tumour was, but I knew that they were telling me it was cancer,” Stacie, from Morden in South London, said.
Doctors initially feared the cancer had spread to his lungs, but further scans confirmed this was not the case.
“That was the worst week of our lives because we didn’t know,” Stacie said. “We felt constantly sick.”
She added: “They caught it really quickly and thankfully his lymph nodes were clear. For us that was the best possible outcome.”
Jaxon eventually received the all-clear on 23 December, which Stacie said came as the ‘best news ever’.
She went on: “It’s been a massive strain on our whole family.
“I had to leave my job because I can’t look after someone else’s children and care for my own.
“I can’t return to work because Jaxon is very vulnerable to illness for seven months after chemo. And I’m a nanny, so at playgroups I’m around up to 30 children.”
As the couple await government assistance via DLA (Disability Living Allowance), which they applied for in early November, Jaxon’s grandmother Ava Jaeggi has set up a GoFundMe for the family, which has already raised more than £5,400.
“People don’t realise how much of a difference they have made to our lives whether they have donated a large or small amount,” said Stacie.
“It has made such a huge difference to the pressure that we’re under.”
To support Stacie and Ben visit: www.gofundme.com/f/jaxon-16-months-fighting-cancer
A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions said: “We know the pressures families with sick and disabled children face and a case manager will be looking at this application urgently.
“The three-month qualifying period, which can begin before an application is made, helps to establish care needs and additional costs so we ensure the right support for those who need it most.”
The couple are hoping to receive DLA from January onwards and are currently on the waiting list – with the DWP saying the three-month qualifying period said to help establish that the disability and resulting care are long-standing in nature and helps ensure the benefit goes to those for whom it is intended.
The qualifying period does not begin at the point of application and can be met straight away if evidence showing the criteria has been met for at least three months.
Jess Hardiman