'I can't believe he's 12' - Kian Musgrove's mum reflects on son's neuroblastoma fight
Little Kian Musgrove won the hearts of people across the North East when his family fundraised to take him to America for vital cancer treatment. Against the odds, he's now 12 and his mum Kat has reflected on his brave journey
by Sam Volpe · ChronicleLiveDiagnosed with cancer twice before his fourth birthday, little Kian Musgrove had a touch-and-go start to life. However, he's now 12 and - though the risk of his neuroblastoma returning hasn't gone away - on the threshold of becoming a happy and healthy teenager.
That's not to say he doesn't deal with the complications and side-effects that come with having extensive cancer treatment as a tot, but his mum Kat is hopeful that the traumatic early years of his life will continue to remain simply bad memories.
Kian was first diagnosed with brain cancer when he was just 18 months old. His story captured the hearts of many in the North East as the Tyneside youngster faced a terrifying ordeal.
Trips to New York for vital care saw, eventually, his illness successfully treated for a second time - though for Kat there's "always the worry" that a relapse could be around the corner.
Kat told ChronicleLive: "Kian has been doing well, though we always know there's that chance of the cancer coming back. We know there are cases where children have relapsed ten, eleven years later. And there's always that worry.
"But despite that, so far, Kian is doing ok. He still has side-effects and is on lots of medication, which he doesn't always like."
Kat explained that Kian's illness had many impacts - including on his education as he "missed out on years of school". She said she had decided to home-school Kian - he also has a tutor - and this suited him.
"He missed out on such a lot of school," she said. "He's home-schooled now and we've found that a lot better for him. We get out a lot on outings to places like Beamish or science museums."
The family has recently been to the Isle of Bute thanks to a charity supporting children who have been through a cancer diagnosis - and Kian enjoyed exploring caves with sisters Katie and Leona. For Kat, seeing Kian grow up is something she once could have barely imagined.
In 2016 £600,000 was raised and Kian was able to travel to New York's Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre for specialist relapse prevention treatment. The family were even supported directly by music mogul Simon Cowell.
Kat added: "I'm still fundraising, in case it comes back. Obviously if that were to happen there'd be the same challenges, he would have to go back to New York - though we of course are hoping it never comes to that.
"I still can't believe he's 12 now - he was just three and a half when he relapsed, and when we went to New York. They basically told me to take him home to die, and if I had he wouldn't be here."
You can still support Kian through the fundraiser in case he relapses at paypal.com/paypalme/caringforkian
Join our WhatsApp communities
ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our communities.
We have a number of communities to join, so you can choose which one you want to be part of and we'll send you the latest news direct to your phone. You could even join them all!
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
Join the ChronicleLive Breaking News and Top Stories community
Join our Court & Crime community
Join the Things to do in Newcastle and the North East community
Join our Northumberland community
Join our County Durham community
Join our Great North Run community