Zac Oliver rings bell to mark end of cancer treatment

A five-year-old boy who was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia rang a bell to mark the end of his treatment.

An appeal raised £500,000 to send Zac Oliver, from Broseley, Shropshire, to Philadelphia in the United States for life-saving treatment.

Family and friends watched as Zac rang the end of treatment bell at the Princess Royal Hospital on Tuesday.

Wolves legend Steve Bull, who has supported Zac's family since his diagnosis, also attended.

The local church, All Saints in Broseley, rang bells at the same time.

Zac was diagnosed with a rare strain of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in May 2018, an illness which affects one in 200 childhood leukaemia patients worldwide.

He was taken to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where doctors said its 17-week CAR T-cell therapy would give Zac a 60% to 80% chance of survival.

A high-profile campaign to get the family to the US received a £50,000 boost from Simon Cowell and £100,000 from a mystery donor.

Last March Zac told his thousands of followers in a video on Facebook: "Guess what everyone, I have no cancer."

Speaking at the bell-ringing, his mother Hannah Oliver-Willets said: "It's a big moment, it's nice that we've got something to symbolise the end of a very traumatic experience.

"It makes a huge difference to be able to celebrate."

Zac's father Mark Garbett added: "We're pleased we've got to this stage and very lucky that we have, we all get to move on now and get to see a happy little boy running around."

Bull said: "It's unbelievable, this young lad is brilliant, he's been a very, very brave boy."

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