Oliver

Oliver’s story  

Towards the end of 2015, Oliver began to feel unwell and started complaining his knees were hurting. During December he also developed severe tummy pain and visited his GP on several occasions. On New Year’s Eve, he was so unwell that he had to go to the hospital. 

The next few days were full of blood tests and investigations. The family were transferred to Southampton General Hospital where they were given the devastating news that Oliver had stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma – the cancer had spread from his abdominal tumour into his bone and bone marrow.  

Oliver embarked on a gruelling 18-month treatment plan which began with ten rounds of intensive chemotherapy and an 8-hour surgery to remove the tumour. Oliver then had his stem cells harvested before undergoing high-dose chemotherapy, after which he spent several weeks in isolation as he was so vulnerable to infection.  

No evidence of neuroblastoma 

By the end of October 2016 and after three weeks of radiotherapy – scans showed Oliver to be completely free of the disease. As a result, he was included on an immunotherapy trial for five months and in May 2017 he was given the all-clear and he started school in September. 

Relapse 

In December 2017 Oliver began to feel unwell again and in the New Year, one of the glands in his neck became very enlarged. 

Oliver responded very well to 11 months of chemotherapy but with some disease left in his bone marrow, his family and clinician identified immunotherapy treatment (Hu3f8) in Barcelona as the best option to clear the remaining disease. Thanks to incredible support for his fundraising campaign raising the £203,000 needed, Oliver started this treatment successfully in early 2019. Unfortunately though, it then had to be put on hold due to increased HAHA antibody levels.  

Brain surgery 

Just before Easter 2019, Oliver developed a severe headache and sickness. He was taken by ambulance to hospital where a CT scan revealed a significant bleed on the brain. Oliver recovered but further scans showed this was caused by a relapse - his cancer had returned with a tumour on the brain. 

Oliver underwent brain surgery in June 2019. The tumour was removed but his neuroblastoma had already spread to his bone marrow and other areas. Options to treat Oliver’s neuroblastoma successfully became more limited with this second relapse. Very sadly, despite treatment with radiotherapy and chemotherapy, Oliver’s disease progressed and the focus for the family became keeping him as comfortable as possible. 

Oliver passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family on 16th November 2019. 

_{Donations made in loving memory of children} 

_{Funds raised in loving memory of Oliver will be used to support other children like Oliver and their families through Solving Kids' Cancer UK's activities. Any funds raised through a previous fundraising campaign for access to treatment which were not spent on the child's treatment and pastoral needs are used to support other children and families through Solving Kids' Cancer UK's activities.}