Mum describes 'rollercoaster of pain' after eight-year-old's rare cancer diagnosis

ITV News Central Reporter Lewis Warner speaks to Dal Kellar, who is fundraising to help children with cancer, like her son Joe

The mother of an eight-year-old boy with incurable cancer says she'll never stop fundraising for charities that make life better for children with life-limiting illnesses.

Dal Kallar has told ITV Central it has been a "rollercoaster of pain" since her son Joe was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia, after being treated for a fractured a kneecap in February last year.

It is thought fewer than 15 children are diagnosed with this type of cancer in the UK every year. 

There is no cure for the illness, only medication to manage it -  which can leave painful side effects.

The family, who are from Swadlincote, now hope to raise thousands of pounds to fund research into medicines that are not as harmful.

"He has to take the tablets for the rest of his life," Ms Kallar-Lewis said.

She adds: "They are a form of chemotherapy, so they have been quite toxic to him. He gets side effects from it.

"The only way that we can help is by doing fundraising for research to find less toxic medication, for children especially."

Ms Kallar-Lewis wants to climb Mount Snowdon in April next year in a bid to raise money for research which would allow "kinder treatments for children" to be found.

Funds will also go to Molly Olly's Wishes, a charity for children with life-limiting illnesses which makes their wishes come true.

The pair have a fundraising past, after Ms Kaller-Lewis walked 750,000 steps to raise more than £2,500 for Birmingham Children's Hospital.

The money funded portable DVD players and e-book tablets to help distract children during chemotherapy treatments.

Joe said he has experienced this himself after being treated at the hospital.

"Blood tests are very hard to get through. Laptops and kindles are something to distract children who are going through a lot," Joe said.

On her upcoming fundraiser to Mount Snowdon, Dal said: "If people can support me, it's a really great cause and I want to do this for Joe.

"It would mean more than the world to us, it really would."