Six-year-old Mila Sneddon declared cancer free after battle with leukaemia
Mila Sneddon rings the bell at the Team Jack Cancer Centre to declare she is now cancer free, ITV News Scotland Correspondent Peter Smith reports
Six-year-old Mila Sneddon, who touched the hearts of the nation when she was separated from her father during lockdown, has been welcomed by her school friends after recovering from cancer.
ITV News has tracked Mila's gruelling journey for two years, witnessing her highs and lows as she sheltered at home to avoid catching Covid while she underwent chemotherapy.
Smiling while holding the hand of her dad, Scott, she was cheered by her entire school as they enthusiastically gave her a surprise guard of honour to mark her now being cancer free.
But the moment was bittersweet for Mila, as she reflected on her ordeal, which began in November 2019 when she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia - a type of cancer that affects white blood cells and requires immediate treatment because it progresses quickly and aggressively.
"Thinking about when I just first started my treatment. It is really hard for people to get past this far," Mila told ITV News Correspondent Peter Smith.
Her treatment plan included multiple rounds of chemotherapy administered in various forms, including through injection and also sometimes under general anaesthetic.
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is rare, with around 790 people diagnosed with the condition each year in the UK, according to the NHS.
In 2020, her mother made the difficult decision to ask her father and sister to move out of their family home in Falkirk to make sure she stayed as healthy as possible.
Her dad Scott, who had to keep going to work during lockdown, would come back to the house every day and stand in the garden just to see Mila's smile.
He would blow kisses to the window to show his affection, but longed to be able to hold his daughter again.
In isolation, Mila enjoyed watching TV, particularly Ant & Dec, who she says she loves.
Just after the first lockdown was declared in England in March 2020, she asked them to tell people to stay at home to help protect the clinically vulnerable, if possible.
Leading by example, the presenting duo said from their respective houses,: "Everybody stay at home!".
Dec continued: "Mila wants us to tell everybody to stay at home so we can protect her and thousands and thousands of people like her."
'Everybody stay at home!' Ant & Dec urged
Mila was captured blowing a kiss in appreciation of the message after she giggled in amusement at the video.
Ant & Dec gave a surprise message to Mila as she returned to school on Wednesday.
"We've heard that you are doing something really special soon," Dec said, before Ant added that he had heard that Mila was going to 'ring the bell' to mark the end of her cancer treatment.
They commended her for her bravery, saying the recovery news was "fantastic".
In May 2020, ITV News captured the moment Mila was reunited with her dad, who had been furloughed by his employers and was given the all-clear to move back home after entering a period of isolation.
Watch the moment Mila is reunited with her dad:
But he hadn't told Mila, who thought he was just coming to the garden for a catch up as normal.
The moment was seen around the world, and even by royalty, as the Duchess of Cambridge chose a picture of Mila talking to her dad through a window for her lockdown book.