Harlow boy's 'migraines' turned out to be rare brain cancer with only 30 diagnosed in UK each year

When doctors told Kirsty Bramble her son was simply suffering from 'migraines', she knew something was wrong.

In the weeks before that first doctors appointment Stanley Batten, 8, had been suffering from head pains so severe that he was left "being unwell, passing out and then sleeping for hours". Alarm bells first started to sound in September 2021.

This young boy from Harlow was experiencing the odd headaches which doctors described as being "migraines" and prescribed medication for.

Sadly, however, the symptoms persisted for several weeks to the point where he would even suffer from what his family describe as "episodes" - where he would be rocking back and forth, "staring straight through you" and be crying.

Stanley was quickly rushed to Great Ormond Street Hospital where, on December 10, Kirsty and Stanley's dad, Gareth Batten, were told their son had a brain tumour.

The family were given just three days to digest the news before their child was whisked in for an operation to drain the fluid on his brain before a second 13-hour operation to try and remove as much of the tumour as possible.

Despite medical experts' best efforts, they were unable to remove the tumour completely and a biopsy later confirmed that Stanley had ependymoma, a rare and aggressive brain cancer on the central nervous system which only a handful of people are diagnosed with each year in the UK.

Stanley was initially receiving curative treatment which means they hope to achieve a cure for his illness, but a relapse of the brain tumour in 2022 meant he was taken down to palliative care, "which means he has a lower chance of survival", Kirsty said.

She added: "Consultants tell me that they won't be able to cure Stanley and it all boils down to the original brain tumour being unable to be removed.

Although that hasn't grown anymore, the chemotherapy and proton beam treatment has kept it at bay but it could at any point wake up again. If one of those cells decides to spark up, it's in the fluid which runs around the body and could spark up anywhere.

"It's completely overwhelming but at the end of the day you've just got to do all you can to support your child."

Even though he has had to deal with 18 months of being in and out of hospital care, Stanley's family say he remains a "typical eight-year-old boy".

aughing as he describes his personality, she says: "He can be so cheeky and sometimes a bit mouthy, but he's also so loving and caring.

"He made really good friends with another young boy in hospital and they were two brave warriors fighting cancer together. When he's at his best he's so full of energy. He loved boxing and wants to return one day.

He loves motorbikes and is a right little dare devil.

"He gets given gifts by some people and it was only the other night that he asked me why some celebrities have been wanting to help him. I said it was because they want to help him and he replied in such a nice way by saying 'that's nice of them but they really don't have to'. That sums him up really."

She added: "He's my son so of course I'll be biased about him. He has his moments where I have to tell him to stop the lip, but he's just a typical eight-year-old lad."

After months of treatment, the family hope to be able to take advantage of a "window of opportunity" between further care by fundraising to go to Caister-on-Sea in Norfolk this summer.

Whilst the family have been able to put down a deposit for their trip to the coast, this comes in addition to further costs for accommodation, food, laundry and more during Stanley's treatment.

"We were advised near the start of all of this to set up GoFundMe's as it could help us cover some of the costs, but now we're being told that the fundraising means we're unable to access some charity grants.," said Kirsty.

"We don't know how long this will go on for. We're on a journey and it's all about speaking up and supporting my children. I want to help give him the life that he deserves.

"He might only have two years, he might have twenty or thirty years. The consultants say there is a very low chance of curing him but he's my baby. I don't really care what others say, he's my child."

She added: "The reason we want to go back to Caister is because it was the last holiday we had together as a family before Stanley became unwell. He's been begging to the seaside and I want to take him to somewhere that has a clean sea and beach due to his illness.

"Caister is also the last holiday destination I went to before my brother died. I drew a few places up and put them to my children and they chose Caister as it has an activity village with a dog obstacle course. He loves dog so much.

"I've had to borrow some money to secure the holiday. I want a holiday where we don't have to say no as we don't know if it'll be his last holiday.

Even if it isn't his last holiday, he'll have had a rough 20 months by then and deserves to just be a child rather than a cancer patient.

"We want him and his sister to be able to build memories. If it's the only one he'll get then we want to make it the best it can be."

The family have an initial goal of raising £2,500 for the cost of the holiday and any additional funds possibly raised will go towards the existing living costs for looking after Stanley.

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