A YOUNGSTER from Liskeard is starring in a charity’s national campaign, encouraging people to support families dealing with cancer this festive season.

Six-year-old Merryn Handley and her family have had the toughest 18 months imaginable. After suffering a bout of seizures in the summer of 2019, Merryn was diagnosed with a brain tumour and cancer of the central nervous system.

Stuart, her dad, said that the first signs were when Merryn had a seizure at a friend’s barbecue, and then another while on a trip with her mum.

“Merryn went camping with her mum to Sennen Cove and within minutes of setting up the tent, she had her second seizure and the coastguard helicopter had to come and take her to hospital,” he said. “After a third seizure, the hospital organised an emergency MRI scan and from that moment everything went 100 miles an hour.”

Merryn went on to have nine-and-a -half hours of surgery, proton therapy and six months of chemotherapy at Bristol Children’s Hospital before finishing treatment in March this year, just as the country went into lockdown.

After months of being isolated in hospital, Merryn was back in isolation once again due to the pandemic.

She could not see her friends, go to school or celebrate the end of treatment with her extended family.

Keeping Merryn safe was the focus for her parents throughout the lockdown.

Now, after this tough year, Merryn is starring in this year’s Christmas campaign for CLIC Sargent, the UK’s leading charity for young people with cancer.

The charity supported Merryn and her family from the moment they were told she had cancer, both on the ward last year and virtually throughout lockdown, and they want to make sure the charity continue to be there for other young people like her.

Stuart said: “When we got the results of the biopsy our world imploded. Merryn was diagnosed with a high-grade brain tumour and cancer of the central nervous system. Luckily in the surgery, the doctors had been able to get the whole of the tumour out. But that wasn’t the end of it as Merryn then had to have proton therapy and chemotherapy for six months.”

The family had to travel between their home in Cornwall to Bristol Children’s Hospital every other weekend for Merryn’s chemotherapy treatment.

Sometimes she would be in for weeks at a time. The family were able to stay for free in a nearby CLIC Sargent Home from Home, so they could be near to Merryn while she was having treatment.

Throughout their experience, they were also supported by Anna, a CLIC Sargent social worker.

“Without CLIC Sargent I think we would have been wondering around in a state of shock for some time,” said Stuart.

“It was nice to have someone to talk to who understood things and who we could be ourselves with.”

Anna liaised with Stuart’s employer so he could be at home with his family and avoid bringing anything home to his vulnerable daughter.

He said: “Going to work was extremely stressful, I was terrified of bringing something home, after seven months of hell before that. I couldn’t do that anymore.”

While Merryn and her family had another scare when she had another seizure this summer, her most recent scan was stable: she’s being monitored carefully for any changes.

Merryn has been able to go back to school and she is looking forward to spending a proper Christmas with her mum and dad and her sister Eve this year.

Last year, she was in the midst of chemotherapy treatment and the family were unable to truly celebrate the festive season.

The Handley family say they want to share their story this Christmas to highlight the incredible support CLIC Sargent provides to young people and families.

Director of Income and Engagement at the charity Luke Mallett said: “CLIC Sargent workers have been at the frontline with young cancer patients and their families this past year and with Christmas on the horizon, they are working even harder to bring light to those living through the darkest times.

“The money we need to offer this vital support has taken a huge hit since the pandemic. We just don’t have enough of it to reach everyone who needs us, which is why we are asking people to help us support young people with cancer, like Merryn, this Christmas.”