LISTEN: Angus mum shares her experience after son diagnosed with cancer

An Arbroath mum is opening up about her experience raising a child with cancer, after her son was diagnosed with leukaemia nearly a year ago.

Laura Hay's little boy Gillon fell ill two months after his second birthday, and is still receiving treatment for the disease.

She wants to raise awareness of charities like Tayside Children with Cancer and Leukaemia, which helps mums and dads financially when their kids become unwell:

Luckily Laura was on maternity leave after having Gillon's baby brother, Henry, so she didn’t have to take time off work like other parents would, but the family continued to rely on the support of their family and TCCL.

She said: “The first thing the charity did was send us a cheque for £500 which was completely unexpected but it certainly helped contribute to the costs that arise with staying and visiting a hospital for that length of time. Gillon was treated with steroids, and gained a lot of weight in a short space of time, so this also helped with the cost of buying bigger clothes.”

TCCL receives donations from local businesses, where workers fundraise the cash to go towards helping families. The Hay family were helped by M&S Dundee, which donated £4,000 to the organisation in one go.

Gaye Blair, one of the founding members of Tayside Children with Cancer and Leukaemia, said: “We were delighted to be chosen as the M&S Dundee stores’ Charity of the Year.

"We rely heavily on the support from local businesses and the general public to keep our doors open so we’re thrilled that the M&S teams have worked so hard to fundraise for us.

"The funds will allow us to continue helping families across Tayside and North East Fife who have unfortunately been affected by cancer and leukaemia".