A four-year-old from Croydon had her cancer mistaken for a stomach ache by three separate hospitals before doctors found a ten centimetre tumour.
Brodie, who is now seven, began experiencing stomach pain in late 2019 and her mum tried to have her daughter correctly diagnosed for almost a year.
Three separate hospitals allegedly repeatedly diagnosed Brodie with constipation, before doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital uncovered a ten centimetre by seven-centimetre tumour in the tissue surrounding her stomach.
She was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma, which is a rare and aggressive type of cancer that most commonly occurs in childhood.
Brodie’s mum, Cherie, said: “You hear about these things happening, but you never imagine it’ll be your child.
“Then I noticed a lump on her pelvis, so I took her to the doctor straight away and said, ‘we’re not leaving until she gets scanned.’”
Brodie began chemotherapy and was in and out of hospital for the next two years.
35-year-old Cherie said: “She handled it really well, we could hardly keep her in bed.
“Whenever she was well enough she was running around the hospital, dancing with the nurses and doing their make-up.
“Everybody just loved her.”
Brodie’s cancer is currently in remission but sadly has a high chance of reoccurrence, so she will be monitored regularly for the foreseeable future.
Fortunately, she has now returned to school full-time and adores being there.
“We just live one day at a time now,” said Cherie.
“We make the most of every moment.
“She's been through so much, and she’s been so strong.
“It’s helped me to stay strong too.
“Now, I just want to see her happy.”
Brodie was referred to Make-A-Wish UK, a charity which aims to grant life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.
Her mum told her that she could ask the charity for whatever she wanted most in the whole world, and Brodie asked for toys.
Cherie said: “She just loves toys.
“She’s a girly girl, loves princesses and ponies.
“She loves playdough too and would create all sorts of shapes during her treatment.
“I just wanted her to go wild in a toy store and to feel special - she really deserves it.”
According to Make a Wish, there are a total of 503 critically ill children across the UK that are waiting for their “Make A Wish” requests to come true, including Brodie.
Jason Suckley, Chief Executive at Make-A-Wish UK, said: “When a child like Brodie is diagnosed with a critical condition, the joy of childhood is brought to an abrupt end with treatment plans, appointments and worry taking over.
“The power of a wish – in this case, being able to go wild in a toy store - revives a childhood stolen by critical illness, by giving Brodie the chance to feel every bit as special as she truly is.
“With 503 children waiting for their wish across the UK – 56 of whom live in Greater London - we need to raise £1.2 million to clear the Wish Map by World Wish Day on April 29th.
“Critically ill children and their families have been waiting long enough.”
You can donate at the Make A Wish website to help children like Brodie see their dreams come true.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here