Heartbreakingly our darling Poppy has been diagnosed with cancer, Rhabdomyosarcoma, a fast growing tumour that has grown behind her eye. As many of you will know, Poppy has some tough times ahead.

Over the next 8 months she will undergo intensive treatment including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and an operation to be cancer free, which is absolutely going to happen, the prognosis is positive and her oncology team are superb and confident. We feel like we’re in safe hands.

Thank goodness for the NHS, they’ve moved at a dizzying speed for which we are eternally grateful, the Drs, Nurses and ward staff have been incredible, planning, explaining and supporting all of us. Chemotherapy will start this week and she has been told that her beautiful hair will be gone within the next 3-4 weeks. Despite her devastation at the reality; she really loves her hair, she can not bear it going to waste. She will benefit from a real hair wig from the Little Princess Trust completely free of charge, so wants to donate her hair to them to help someone else in need. She will be braving the shave next week, date to be confirmed, whilst we get all her hospital dates sorted.

This gesture is Poppy in a nutshell, thoughtful, considerate, brave, strong and pragmatic, a total legend! At only 15 her attitude and determination to find the positives are astounding, we have been in awe of her and couldn’t be prouder. She counts herself lucky she gets to fight it, which we’ve absolutely no doubt she will.

So, she thought this was the first opportunity to turn a negative into a positive.

At the end of Poppys GCSE year, next year July 2025 she will be heading off to Morocco, taking part in The World Challenge. Away for 13 nights, the Learning Service Journeys are cleverly curated to foster global citizenship through cultural immersion. It’s about taking students out of their bubbles, expanding their minds through the sharing of cultures and community engagement, assisting with a village farming or school project for example.

This is a completely self-funded trip, as part of the experience students are required to raise £2,695 for their place. Her cancer treatment will make this very difficult for her to get out there and fund raise the money the way she wanted to, so any money raised towards it will give her something to aim for and look forward to.

We want to mention her sister Ivy who we are also incredibly proud of, she has been an enormous strength for Poppy, offering love, support, banter and her bedroom whilst we sort the impracticalities of Poppys loft bed! They are so close and we don’t underestimate how scary this all is for her too. We are so fortunate to have such a strong family unit and all of you, our wonderful family, friends, and people we’ve met on this journey so far are beyond incredible. We LOVE you all enormously and are endless grateful to have you in our lives.

Thank you so so much in advance for your generosity, support, positive vibes, kindness and love.

Update she smashed her original target in just over an hour!!! Anything over the target will be donated to The Teenage Cancer Trust and The Little Princess Trust.

The Little Princess Trust, who rely solely on the generosity of their supporters to carry out their important work. Any contribution you can make will help them to provide wigs, free of charge, to those who need them. They are coloured and styled to a child/young persons choice, giving them hope and confidence to keep going.

The Teenage Cancer Trust, who are another incredible charity and the provider of the unit in Bristol where Poppy will receive most of her treatment and care. Teenage Cancer Trust units don’t feel like hospital. They’re specially designed spaces where young people facing cancer can feel at home, meet others their age, welcome family and friends, and get the very best care from dedicated nurses and youth support teams.

Hazel, Chris, Poppy and Ivy Xxxx