Fleet cancer survivor's 'annoying teenage habits' highlighted in Channel 4 film
Like many teenagers, Leah argues with her parents and has a ‘messy bedroom’
A 16-year-old cancer survivor from Fleet is set to have her most annoying habits exposed on national television.
Leah Howard will appear alongside her long-suffering parents, Nicole and Simon, in a short film to be broadcast tonight (9 March) for Stand Up To Cancer.
Joining others from across the UK in support of the joint fundraising campaign from Cancer Research UK and Channel 4, the film puts into perspective our irritating faults.
Leah was only 18 months old when she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in 2006 and immediately started a course of chemotherapy, but it had to be stopped after she developed a serious infection in her liver, spleen and kidneys.
She was transferred to the intensive care unit at St George’s Hospital, London, where she underwent life-saving treatment.
Nicole, 36, and Simon, 46, spent most of their time at their little girl’s bedside, willing her to recover. But four months spent in a hospital bed meant Leah lost all muscle tone in her legs.
She tried walking but ended up with a fractured ankle because of the weakness in her legs.
But courageous Leah didn’t give up. She learnt to walk again and completed her treatment which left her in remission.
Leah, a pupil at All Hallows Catholic School in Farnham, and her parents were filmed to help shine a light on the progress in research that is helping to improve cancer survival. The story culminates with the final punchline that, with the public’s help, more people like Leah can “keep on being annoying for longer”.
Speaking about Leah’s diagnosis, Simon said: “Being told your child has cancer is every parent’s worst nightmare. It shattered our world.”
Nicole added: “To then have to watch Leah become so poorly and fight so hard was incredibly tough, but her bravery and determination was just amazing.
“It was a long journey, but it’s thanks to research that we are sat together - 12 years later - around the kitchen table and able to joke about her messy bedroom.”
In the South East, an average of around 52,100 people are diagnosed with cancer each year. Leah and her family hope their story will inspire people to get behind Stand Up To Cancer’s fundraising effort.
Nicole said: "People are getting on each other’s nerves the length and breadth of the UK right now with lockdown, but seeing your child face cancer has taught us that none of that matters.
"I hope that people in Hampshire will take this lovely film to heart and get involved so that patients and survivors like me can keep annoying their loved ones for many more years to come."
Stand Up To Cancer aims to get new tests and treatments to people who need them faster. Since its launch in 2012, the campaign has raised over £62 million to fund 55 clinical trials and research projects.
Leah’s Stand Up To Cancer film airs on Channel 4 at 7.55pm tonight (9 March) and will be available to stream on demand via All 4.