Yahoo News Teen diagnosed with cancer twice as family say he 'just wants to live a normal life'
'We just want him to live his life' says a desperate Nuneaton mum whose young son is battling cancer for the second time. When he was just 13, Blake Smith was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. It left his footballing dreams shattered as he had to undergo gruelling chemotherapy for a tumour in his left leg,
The Hartshill teen ended up having to have his left femur removed and replaced with a metal rod. But he faced the challenge head on and, following chemotherapy, was put into remission in August 2020. However, he continued to have checks.
It was one of these routine checks, at the end of January of this year, that led to heartbreaking news - that the cancer had not only returned but was more vicious and was growing right next to his heart and into his left lung.
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Now, aged 17, he has been undergoing more chemotherapy but, at the end of last month, medics warned that the tumour was not shrinking and, due to its precarious location, they cannot operate on him.
It has left his family desperate to find alternative treatment for him. Danielle Brettle, his mum, told Coventry Live that they just want him to be able to live a normal life
Her son turns 18 next month, something that should be a milestone, but they are being forced to live 'each day as it comes' as they desperately search for ways to help Blake.
"They (the doctors ) say it (the tumour) has not got any bigger and it has not spread, but it has not shrunk either," she said.
"It is classed as Stage 4 metastasis cancer, and there is still no operation he can have. I have asked what is going to happen as he is on his fifth cycle of chemo this week and then his last one is the end of May.
"From my understanding they are going to give him another scan to see if anything has changed but they are saying it is most unlikely as it hasn't shrunk it so far
"We don't really know the available options at the moment, if it spreads or gets bigger then he may have to have a different type of chemo. We don't really know, because of where it (the tumour) is, anything can happen suddenly."
The family have been looking into alternative treatments for Blake, but are at a loss of where to turn.
"It's hard to put into words, we have to take every day as it comes, I don't sleep at night, it takes me ages to get to sleep because I am worrying about him," said the mum-of-four.
"It is frustrating, I just don't get why they can't operate on him, you see all of the operations they do for other people, he is 17 and is 18 in June, he should have his whole life ahead of him."
'World's biggest Liverpool fan'
But, despite having to go through chemotherapy, she said her remarkable son continues to overcome the odds. "Even through all of this ordeal, he managed to pass his driving test in March," she said. "We are so proud of him."
The family used money previously donated in a gofundme appeal to buy him a car. "We don't know what is going to happen, so he has his car, but I think everytime we get told something different, it knocks him back but he tries not to show it." she says.
Facing more treatment and an uncertain future, her huge Liverpool fan has been given a reason to smile. "He is the world's biggest Liverpool fan," she said. "My family has been able to get him tickets to Jurgen Klopp's last ever game as manager, which he is really looking forward to."
But not knowing what will happen come the end of his treatment next month, has left the family in limbo. "We have looked things up and he has things like Tumeric, seamoss and soursop everyday, and I order him special patches from America to help with his stem cells, but we just don't know what else we can do," she said.
"If they won't operate, we just don't know what will happen next, we are looking for anyone who could help."
She concluded: "We want Blake to overcome this, we just want him to live his life,"
The gofundme page has been relaunched as the family look to make memories with Blake as well as fund any potential treatments or operations.
To donate to the GoFundMe page here
