Courage of children battling cancer inspires poem

Two children from the Thames Valley are among five youngsters battling cancer who have inspired a poem about courage by former children's laureate Joseph Coelho.

Eight-year-old Lily, from Witney in Oxfordshire, and Stanley, 5, from Bracknell in Berkshire, have both had cancer during their childhoods.

Lily is currently receiving treatment for leukaemia, while Stanley has been cancer-free for a year after recovering from a type of kidney cancer last year.

The pair were the inspiration for Joseph Coelho's poem: Courage Looks Like Me.

It was written to mark the launch of this year’s Cancer Research UK for Children & Young People Star Awards.

Lily was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a type of blood cancer, earlier this year, and has had both chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

Her mum Kate said: "That has become part of our lives now and we have to accept it as our new normal."

She said Lily had been "so brave and cheerful" during her treatment.

Lily has a "long way to go" her mum said, with her treatment not due to finish until 2026.

Kate said it "meant a lot for Lily to be part of the poem".

In providing inspiration for the specially commissioned poem, each child was asked what courage sounds like.

Lily said it sounded like "a lion's roar".

Stanley said the sound of courage was: "Pow, like a karate chop."

The five-year-old was diagnosed with Wilm’s Tumour, a type of kidney cancer that affects children, in February 2023.

He had surgery to have the tumour and his left kidney removed. This was followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Stanley’s mum Sadie said: "Although he’s been extremely poorly, he’s been the bravest, strongest and most determined little boy.

"He is so resilient – he amazes me and keeps us going."

Stanley finished his chemotherapy near the end of 2023, and received one of Cancer Research UK's star awards for his courage.

The awards are open to all children in the UK who have been treated for cancer in the last five years - with every eligible child nominated receiving an award.

"The star awards are a brilliant initiative and I’m proud that our poem can play a part in raising awareness of them – and recognise more children for their courage and resilience in the face of cancer," Joseph Coelho said.

The poet worked with five children from across the UK to create the piece.

"The children blew me away," he said.

Stanley's mum Sadie said: "It’s so inspiring that children who are still so young and have been through so much can put into words what cancer meant to them.

"I think their poem will give others hope and hopefully one day Stan will forget about the tough parts of his cancer and remember how making this poem is helping other children."

Lily's mum Kate added: "We hope the poem will resonate with other families of children affected by cancer and help spread the word about the star awards."

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