A mother's instinctive observation during her son's bath time has uncovered a devastating and rare cancer diagnosis for her two-year-old boy.
A Mother's Instinct Uncovers a Crisis
Louisa Shilleto, a 37-year-old solicitor from Hull, East Yorkshire, was carrying out the evening routine for her toddler, Charlie, when she noticed something alarming. The veins across his chest had turned a pronounced shade of blue. Sensing immediately that "something was not right," Louisa and her husband Lee, 39, lifted Charlie from the bath to examine him further.
Their concern deepened when they discovered a large, unexplained lump under the little boy's arm. Acting swiftly just days before Christmas, the family rushed Charlie to Hull Royal Infirmary. After a seven-hour wait, doctors began investigations that would reveal a terrifying reality.
A Rare and Aggressive Diagnosis
Medical tests showed that a large tumour had taken over most of the left side of Charlie's chest, extending from beneath his chin down to his ribs. The diagnosis delivered to Louisa and Lee was every parent's worst nightmare: stage four metastatic embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma. This is a rare and aggressive form of soft tissue cancer.
The disease was progressing rapidly. By the next morning, a second lump had appeared on Charlie's neck. The primary tumour was pressing against his lung with such force it had created a hole, causing the lung to collapse. Doctors had no choice but to begin life-saving treatment immediately.
Charlie was transferred by ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary, where specialists worked to stabilise him. He was placed on high-dose steroids to reduce swelling while awaiting biopsy results. On December 17, the family received the formal cancer confirmation. "I remember having a panic attack in that room," Louisa recalled. "I couldn't breathe and I was shaking like a leaf."
The Gruelling Road of Treatment and Recovery
Charlie began chemotherapy without delay. His treatment plan is exhaustive, involving months of intensive chemotherapy followed by long-term maintenance therapy. He has already completed his first round and is currently undergoing his second cycle.
The treatment has taken a visible toll on the toddler. "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," Louisa explained. "He's lost a lot of weight and he's very pale. But because he's so young, he just cracks on."
While tests confirmed the cancer had not spread to Charlie's bones, the family lives with the anxiety of relapse, which is common with this type of cancer. "He is responding well to treatment now," said Louisa. "But for us, the real fear will start once his treatment is finished."
To support the family with travel costs to Leeds, living expenses away from home, and creating precious memories, Louisa's sister-in-law, Alysha Curtis, launched a fundraiser. It has raised more than £17,000, greatly easing the financial pressure. "We never expected it to take off like it has," Louisa said. "The immediate lift in pressure is incredible."
