Oliver Stephenson family 'over moon' about US treatment

Parents fundraising to pay for their son's cancer care have said they are "over the moon" that he can now go to the US for treatment early next year.

Four-year-old Oliver Stephenson, from West Yorkshire, was diagnosed with a rare cancer in January this year.

His mother Laura said the family did not expect to reach their £230,000 target due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But she said people "pulled together even more" and smashed the target by nearly £40,000 - reaching £269,741.

Oliver, who is five on Boxing Day, will now be able to go to New York for clinical trials when he finishes immunotherapy in the UK.

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Oliver, from Ackworth, has neuroblastoma, a cancer which forms in nerve tissue, and was initially diagnosed with a tumour on his kidney.

It spread to the rest of his body including his eye sockets, bone marrow and scalp, his mother said.

During the first coronavirus lockdown, Oliver and his father spent seven weeks isolating in Leeds General Infirmary while he had chemotherapy.

It is hoped the treatment in the US will stop the aggressive cancer returning.

Ms Stephenson said: "We're over the moon, it's really overwhelming.

"It's going to be an amazing Christmas for us with this on the horizon."

She added: "In January, his prognosis wasn't great. It's been a really, really tough year.

"This year, Oliver's had chemotherapy, surgery, stem cell treatment, a bone marrow transplant and we've isolated for much of the year."

She said it was "amazing" and "overwhelming" to know before Christmas that Oliver was on-track for treatment in the US early next year once immunotherapy on the NHS was complete.

"He's doing really, really well now. He's fit and strong. We can see the light at the end."

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