Charity lends a helping hand to children with cancer returning to school

  • Full report by ITV Meridian's Malcolm Shaw

Moving on from primary school to secondary school can be quite a challenge for young people and even more so for those who are also having to cope with cancer.

Their schooling can be seriously impacted by gruelling medical treatment and its side-effects. 

Children's charity Momentum offers specially-tailored support to families living with cancer.

11-year-old Tris Storey from Shoreham, who is undergoing treatment for Leukaemia, is currently being supported by the charity as he moves from primary school to secondary school.

Tris Storey was diagnosed with Leukaemia last year.

The first stage of Tris' cancer treatment was particularly intense, and he had to miss a lot of school.

He said: "I missed almost all of my Year 6 learning, and even when I was back in school the nurses came in every week to do my weekly blood tests.

"I had to go to doctors appointments and also after the doctors I had to go for my chemotherapy and I'd feel really ill so I missed some school."

Tris' mum Jen Storey said: "We were having the summer holidays and he had been poorly and we were trying to find out what was the matter with him but the last thing on my mind was him having Leukaemia.

"It came as a real shock and treatment starts straight away so it was a very tough time for us."

Tris's mum Jen Storey says the diagnosis has changed their lives:

Kerrie Thorpe, from Momentum, is supporting the family through Tris' illness, and will be helping with the move to secondary school too.

She said: "Every day 10 children in the UK are diagnosed with cancer and receive the devastating news.

"With the NHS being overstretched, Momentum Children's Charity becomes a lifeline for these children.

"We can put in tutoring and there's access to therapies through music or play. It's tailored to the child and there's counselling available for the whole family."

Tris is due to finish his Leukaemia treatment at the end of 2024. 

For now, he's looking forward to the immediate future and life at his new school.

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