Cambridgeshire parents' cancer fundraiser for son George turning negatives into positives
George Radcliffe died last year after being diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma
A mum from Cambridgeshire who lost her son to cancer wants a fundraiser in his name can turn the negatives into a positive.
George Radcliffe was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma a soft tissue tumour which affects muscles attached to the bone, in May 2022 aged three-years-old before he died in October last year.
His parents Lisa and David from Isleham set up the Just George fund last September for the Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG) to help fund more research into the illness.
The fundraiser has since raised more than £114,000.
Fundraiser a way of 'taking back control'
"When we knew we were losing George, my husband and I felt we needed to find a way to channel the negative energy around that and to try and turn it into something positive and perhaps take back some of the control cancer had taken away from us," Lisa said.
"There just isn't enough research into childhood cancers, but we know it is the biggest killer for children and so for parents like us that have lost children or have children going through treatment, it's important we're looking into this."
How common is rhabdomyosarcoma?
George underwent chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery before the tumour grew back, but despite George being on maintenance chemotherapy, he did not respond to the relapse treatment.
According to the Children with Cancer UK charity, rhabdomyosarcoma cancer accounts for 53% of soft tissue sarcoma cases in childhood.
And more than 100 children in the UK are diagnosed every year with soft tissue sarcomas, with 55 children a year diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma.
Lisa and David are looking to raise money for CCLG, which aims to fund and support research to find kinder and more effective treatments for childhood cancer.
Last September, George was able to attend a fundraiser at Milton Country Park which raised £2,800, while another group of people have completed the National Three Peaks challenge for the Just George fund.
"There just isn't time to wait"
Lisa and David hope that by sharing their story, others will be inspired to do the same.
"We are adamant we want to share our story and almost be a champion for those other parents that are currently going through treatment with their children or have lost children in the past because not everybody can do it," she added.
"It (the fundraiser) means so much to us because there just isn't time to wait (for research).
"Raising the money is amazing, the success has been people coming together and wanting to help and us being grateful for anything, but the ultimate goal is that research."