Brodie’s Bone Cancer Fight

Hi, my name is Stacey and I live in Stoke-on-Trent with my husband and two children. My 11-year-old son, Brodie, is currently fighting, for a second time, a rare form of bone cancer. This is something we never ever thought would happen to us.

Brodie is a beautiful boy, both inside and out. He’s the happiest little boy who always has a cheeky smile on his face. He’s the most loving son, brother, grandchild, nephew, cousin and friend. He’s a ray of sunshine and lights up a room wherever he goes. He’s caring, compassionate and receives nothing but praise from anyone that meets him. He’s always the first to help anyone hurt or in trouble. He will play with anyone of any age and we always say the world would be a better place if there were more people like Brodie in it.

There is no standard treatment protocol for relapsed bone cancer. Fortunately, Brodie was invited to join a new clinical trial, which is a rare opportunity for his cancer type. This is at Manchester Children’s Hospital. Although this maybe a miracle treatment, the treatment protocol is very aggressive, which is needed for this aggressive disease. It consists of a high dose chemotherapy and an adjuvant/supportive drug which has not been used to treat bone cancer before, therefore its efficacy is unknown. Unfortunately, both drugs come with a long list of dangerous risks and side effects and can compromise Brodie’s future health.

Brodie is being thrashed about by this treatment. It is having a significant effect on his vital organs and every treatment cycle, anxiously, carries further risks. The treatment is gruelling to say the least, to watch your child suffer in such a way, is truly heartbreaking.

Brodie has had some very serious infections while receiving treatment, that have made him scarily unwell, to the point where I have prayed at his bedside.

Brodie is on a cocktail of medications to treat the side effects which then also come with their own side effects. He’s had numerous blood transfusions, ultrasounds and scans, but he still fights through it and regains his smile. It breaks our hearts to see our son this way. We wish there were kinder treatment options for all cancer sufferers.

We would like to work with an integrative medical practitioner who will work alongside Brodie’s oncology team to help Brodie regain his health and alleviate any long-term side effects, hopefully reducing the chance of a reoccurrence. This is not something that is widely available on the NHS, there is a service, but this has limitations and has a really long waiting list.

This integrative medical practitioner will help us understand the root cause of Brodie’s cancer through genomic testing. The aim is to treat this root cause and create an environment within Brodie’s body that will not allow the cancer to thrive. It will run alongside the adjuvant/supportive drug, which can be used as a maintenance drug. However, this comes with serious side effects. Therefore with nutrition and supplements, these can help Brodie’s body heal, alleviate the side effects and reduce the chance of a reoccurrence, all of which come at a high cost.

We never dreamt of setting up a ‘GoFundMe’ page however, watching Brodie suffer with the treatment is so hard. We have to do all we can as parents to give him the best chance to beat this disease.

Any donations, however large or small, would be greatly appreciated. If you are unable to donate, please consider sharing this page. Thank you xxx

Background:

In August 2022, I was walking Brodie to school when Brodie became breathless. This was unusual because he was a healthy, normal active 9 year old, constantly running around with his friends, playing football, wearing his coat as a cape and chasing girls around.

We took Brodie for an urgent care appointment initially as we couldn’t get a doctors appointment, they suspected asthma and he was given an inhaler. His breathlessness continued so we took him back, he was then given antibiotics for a suspected chest infection. The antibiotics didn’t work and we took him back to our GP and requested an X-ray.

The X-ray showed Brodie’s chest was filled with fluid. Brodie was sent for a CT scan which showed a large mass in his chest. We were taken to a quiet room and were told the news no parent wants to hear ‘we believe it’s cancer’. We literally fell apart, but we quickly had to pull or socks up and face Brodie showing no concern (this was immensely difficult). We were catapulted into a new, terrifying world, our normal happy lives seemed just like a speck in the distance. The fear, despair and pain were excruciating. We felt we were awake in a nightmare. Brodie and I were blue lighted to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, with dad following. I remember sitting in the ambulance, trembling from shock, my mind racing but at the same time trying to act normal so not to scare Brodie, Brodie fell asleep and I broke down.

With no time to come to terms with the trauma, Brodie was taken for a biopsy and a Hickman line was put in his chest that would deliver his chemotherapy. Soon after, the battle began and we had no choice but to put the trauma aside and be Brodie’s rock and fight. Brodie bravely fought through 14 cycles of chemotherapy and 30 rounds of radiotherapy always with a smile on his face and never complained.

Following Brodie’s initial treatment he had clear scans for 9 months, we were starting to get back into our new normal life - looking forward to the new year ahead, booked an holiday and accepted invitations to special occasions, pencilling birthdays and anniversaries into the calendar. However, in March 24, we received the devastating phonecall, Brodie’s cancer had returned and that there is no standard protocol for a relapse. This time, the fear and despair was worse (if it could ever be). We were told there are very limited options. Hope is a small word and before our situation, I didn’t truly understand the significance of this word, but when you are faced with this kind of situation, hope is massive and it can get you through the worst. Fortunately, a clinical trial was open in Manchester and Brodie was able to join.