Toddler diagnosed with rare cancer after mom spots chest turning blue

By James Connolly

A 2-year-old boy was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer after his mom noticed the veins in his chest had turned an alarming shade of blue during bath time.

Louisa Shilleto, 37, knew "something was not right" during the evening routine for toddler Charlie, from Hull, East Yorks.

Trusting her instincts, she and husband Lee, 39, lifted him out of the bath and began checking him over - and made a second discovery.

A lump had appeared under his arm, so the family rushed him to the hospital just days before Christmas.

Tests revealed that a large tumor had taken over most of the left side of his chest, stretching from just under his chin down to his ribs.

Specialist teams gave the family Charlie's diagnosis - stage four metastatic embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive soft tissue cancer.

Louisa, who works as a solicitor, said: "It was bath time when I noticed that the veins on Charlie's chest were really blue. It stood out quite a lot.

"We sat him on the bed and knew that something wasn't right, so we scanned the rest of his body.

"That's when we noticed the lump under his arm. It was quite big and had seemingly come out of nowhere."

She said: "We took him to Hull Royal Infirmary and had a seven-hour wait to be seen by a doctor.

"We wanted to know the underlying cause."

They stayed in the hospital overnight - and by the next morning, another lump had been discovered in Charlie's neck.

The aggressive disease was causing damage to Charlie's tiny body - as the tumor pushed against his lung, creating a hole that caused it to collapse.

Doctors had no choice but to begin life-saving treatment immediately.

He was rushed by ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary, where medics fought to stabilize him.

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Charlie was placed on high-dose steroids to try to reduce the swelling while they waited for biopsy results.

Louisa said: "On December 17, we were taken into a quiet room by a consultant and I was told that it was rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare kind of cancer.

"I remember having a panic attack in that room. I couldn't breathe and I was shaking like a leaf."

Charlie began chemotherapy straight away.

He faces an exhausting treatment plan involving months of intensive chemotherapy, followed by long-term maintenance treatment.

He has now completed his first round of chemotherapy and is currently undergoing his second cycle.

While tests confirmed the cancer had not spread to his bones, Charlie's family said that relapses remain a concern.

Louisa said: "This type of cancer has a high rate of relapse, which is every parent's worst nightmare.

"He is responding well to treatment now. But for us, the real fear will start once his treatment is finished."

The grueling treatment has taken a visible toll on the toddler.

Louisa said: "It comes with a lot of sickness, he has ulcers in his mouth, and his walking has changed because one of the drugs affects the nerves in his legs.

"He's lost a lot of weight and he's very pale. But because he's so young, he just cracks on."

To help ease the financial strain while the family focuses on Charlie's care, Louisa's sister-in-law Alysha Curtis launched a fundraiser, which has received more than $17,000.

The money will help cover travel costs to and from Leeds, living expenses while the family is away from home, and precious days out to make memories with Charlie.

Louisa said: "We never expected it to take off like it has - we're quite overwhelmed. The immediate lift in pressure is incredible."