A six-year-old boy is finally flying back to the UK cancer-free after spending months in Singapore receiving cutting-edge leukaemia treatment.
Oscar Saxelby-Lee and his parents travelled halfway round the world for the groundbreaking CAR-T clinical trial therapy, some eight months ago.
Announcing news of his homecoming on Thursday, the Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust charity, which helped fundraise for Oscar’s treatment, said it was “delighted”.
In an emotional social media post, his mother said: “Can’t quite believe it…. crying bucket loads!
“The day we’ve dreamt of for so very long has now become a reality!
“We’re actually bringing him home!”
In January, Oscar’s parents Olivia Saxelby and Jaime Lee said they were “rejoicing” after tests showed a cancer treatment has left him leukaemia free for the first time since he was diagnosed at the end of 2018.
Oscar, from Worcester, Worcestershire, was able to travel abroad after a crowdfunding appeal raised more than £670,000.
The homecoming flight marks the latest stage in Oscar’s “miraculous” cancer journey.
The youngster underwent a bone marrow transplant in May last year after a donor search saw thousands of people from across the UK queue up for a public sign-up event in his home city to register in a bid to help.
Following the transplant procedure, Oscar was briefly cancer-free but the leukaemia returned, sparking the crowdfunding appeal.
Oscar has T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), which is difficult to treat and means he has been in and out of hospital constantly.
He was unable to get further treatment through the NHS, as he would only become eligible for a new stem cell transplant once 12 months had passed since the first.
His family said that the only real option left for Oscar was the clinical trial in Singapore.
He is only second child in the world to have the groundbreaking personalised treatment for T-cell ALL as, up until now, it has only been available for children with B-cell ALL.
Jen Kelly, from the Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust, said: “We are delighted to see Oscar returning home to the UK with his mum and dad.
“Our smiles have been growing ever wider as we watched Oscar’s miraculous journey.
“We are so proud to have been able to play a key part in Oscar’s bid for lifesaving treatment in Singapore and it is wonderful to see Oscar doing so well following his groundbreaking treatment.
“The Grace Kelly Trust is currently working hard to support many other families at this current time.
“Working towards our charity purpose, ‘Because the children of today all deserve a tomorrow’ continues to drive us forward.”
To find out more, visit www.gkcct.org
