Perfect Christmas for young Oscar and family after cancer battle
“We’re back to life as normal now, which is exactly how it should be. And we’re just thrilled.”
These are the words of overjoyed Black Country mother Cheryl Beardmore, who had wished for nothing more than to spend Christmas Day cuddling her smiling, healthy little boy.
Four-year-old Oscar was too poorly last Christmas to even play with his gifts.
Having undergone gruelling chemotherapy treatment during mid-December, he also had to go into hospital on Boxing Day for treatment.
Superhero fanatic Oscar was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma in June 2017, a rare form of cancer that affects the soft tissue.
WATCH: Oscar celebrates end of cancer treatment
He was just three years old at the time.
But this Christmas was ‘a million miles away from last year’ said Cheryl, aged 43, as her son beat his illness just in time to start his first year of school this September.
“We feel so blessed and so lucky that everything is fine for Oscar,” said Cheryl, who works as a teaching assistant.
“We have thoughts sometimes that something will reappear, but we know we need to stay focussed and enjoy every day.”
She and husband Mark, aged 48, invited close family over to enjoy Christmas Day at their Wednesbury home.
And it was a world away from the struggles of last year.
“Last year we could not enjoy it,” said Cheryl.
“Oscar had chemotherapy just before Christmas and then treatment on Boxing Day so he was too poorly to play with his gifts. But it’s been a million miles from that this year.
“We had family round and we all had lunch together. And just snuggled on the sofa, watching Christmas movies and ate until we felt sick!”
Oscar’s Christmas wish list included a Nintendo Switch, a plush elf toy, and a Batman Extreme toy – all of which his parents treated him to.
He also has not long returned from a magical trip to Lapland, with other children undergoing cancer treatment, which was gifted to him and his family by charity Matt’s Mission.
During his cancer treatment – Oscar battled the illness for more than a year – he had to undergo 28 sessions of proton beam therapy in Germany as well as 13 rounds of chemotherapy.
It all started when his parents discovered a lump on the side of his head.
The Beardmore family have since built up a supportive following on social media and have raised thousands of pounds for Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where Oscar was treated.
Visit facebook.com/followoscarsjourney for more.
