Essex boy, 5, given just a few years to live after rare cancer diagnosis

The family of a young boy from Chelmsford suffering from an aggressive form of cancer and given just a few years to live are desperately fundraising to enrol him onto a drug trial in Italy. Ellis Wild was diagnosed with high risk stage four Neuroblastoma in February 2021, aged just three years old.

The youngster - who lives in Writtle with his mums Tracy, 51, and Amy, 39 - has undergone a range of treatments and continues to fight the condition. The family have exhausted all available NHS healthcare, including chemotherapy, but Ellis has previously relapsed and one of their last-remaining opportunities lays in a specialist drug trial in the Italian capital, Rome.

According to Children With Cancer UK, infants diagnosed with Neuroblastoma have just a 43 per cent five-year survival rate when aged between one and four; compared with an 83 per cent survival rate if diagnosed before the age of one.

"Looking back perhaps the signs were there staring us in the face long before he was eventually diagnosed," Tracy told EssexLive. "Ellis would regularly wake up during the night thrashing about and crying, sometimes three or four times in one night.

"As first time parents we assumed that he was having bad dreams and we'd spend hours comforting him back off to sleep. He would sweat profusely to the point of his pyjamas being drenched the next morning. Never for one minute did we imagine it could be anything as serious as cancer."

Despite being on a two-year journey which has involved lengthy stays at Great Ormond Street Hospital with months of chemotherapy treatment, Ellis continues to show himself to be a brave warrior. The little lad, who loves zoo animals and pizza, has had some hair grow back thanks to a UK-based drug trial but, having exhausted all that the NHS has to offer, the Wild family must now find around €270,000 (£232k) to enrol Ellis on an Italian drug trial.

Just over £70,000 has been raised so far thanks to community events - including one where hundreds queued in the rain to attend a family fun day to support Ellis - but the family admits there is "still a long way to go".

Mum Tracy, 51, said of her son, now five-years-old: "If it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't smile each day. He's quite sensitive and wants to make people laugh - even if he's feeling pretty low himself.

"He very rarely complains about anything. At times he has been through a lot of pain but he won't tell you that. He tries a lot to keep our spirits up too."

She added: "People say that if you meet Ellis you'll never forget him. He certainly has an impact on everyone who meets him. He's funny and brave, he doesn't like to be praised. We always try to tell him how amazing he is but he won't take that. He's so humble.

"He's an adrenaline junkie. He will say he's not fearful of anything. He loves taking risks. Offer him something on the edge to do and he'll do it. Despite all he's going through, his energy is amazing.

"He does parkour around the house. He doesn't just walk around, he'll jump from furniture to furniture. That's who he is. He lives to have fun, likes an adventure."

The Wild family continue to raise money to support Ellis with a GoFundMe^[2] page, JustGiving^[3] page, and special events.

What are the symptoms of Neuroblastoma?

According to Children With Cancer UK^[4], there are a number of standard symptoms which might indicate neuroblastoma. They include:

• Loss of appetite
• Tiredness
• Pain in the bones
• Small, blue-coloured lumps
• Weakness in the legs
• Swollen belly
• Difficulty swallowing and breathing

A variety of tests are needed to diagnose neuroblastoma cancer. They can include blood, urine or bone marrow tests, X-rays, CT or MRI scans and more.

The stage of a cancer describes how far it has grown or spread. Stage one means the tumour is in one area of the body and can be completely removed with surgery. Stage four means the cancer has spread to parts of the body that are some distance from where it originated.

References

1. ^{^} Clacton Pier staff seriously injured after 'colliding with mechanical ride' (www.essexlive.news)
2. ^{^} GoFundMe (www.gofundme.com)
3. ^{^} JustGiving (www.justgiving.com)
4. ^{^} Children With Cancer UK (www.childrenwithcancer.org.uk)