Iyla's Story

Iyla started school in September 2024 and was enjoying the new experience when in November we noticed a small lump in her cheek that was not going down. After seeing a doctor we were told to come back if it got any worse and carried on as normal. A week later it was growing bigger almost daily and, after another visit to the hospital and various scans, we were given the devastating news that it was a rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of childhood cancer that affects around 60 children a year in the UK.

Within days of this news we had transferred to a paediatric oncology ward, had a Hickman line inserted and began chemotherapy. The speed at which your life is unexpectedly turned upside down gives you no time to even comprehend what is happening and the whole experience is very traumatic for everyone involved, particularly a child. iyla has now completed 6 rounds of chemotherapy, as well as 6 weeks of daily radiotherapy in London. She is due to start round 7 and when it finishes we will be staying at Ben's Retreat for a much needed change of scenery.

Charities like Ben's Retreat are so helpful to deal with the non stop hospital visits, plus home visits, to give families undergoing the treatment time to relax and think about anything other than cancer and just enjoy themselves with no thought about the very difficult journey you have found yourself on.