A BOX of tissues on a doctor’s desk is never a good sign.
Philippa Martin’s ‘heart sank’ when she noticed one on the table after being pulled into a room to talk about what was causing her son Oscar‘s blotchy rash.
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Oscar was a ‘bouncing boy’ who loved life Credit: PA Real Life
A red blotchy rash was the first sign of a diagnosis that would change everything Credit: PA Real Life
She and her husband James were initially told not to worry when Oscar, now seven, came down with the rash in May 2022.
But weeks later, the parents were in hospital being told their little boy may have leukaemia.
For Philippa, it felt like her “world had ended”.
And James, 38, a delivery driver and content creator living in Derbyshire, said: “I remember going outside not long after ringing my work to tell them the news. I could feel my heartbeat in my head.
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Oscar was diagnosed with leukaemia Credit: PA Real Life
James says being told about his son’s illness was surreal Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
“I felt like I was almost separated from my body… and I was just in another world. It was so surreal.”
Oscar, the youngest of four children – Alex, 21, Finlay, 18, and Imogen, 12 – was described by his dad as a “bouncing” boy who “loved life” and enjoyed “getting his hands dirty” in the family’s allotment garden.
But James remembered Oscar kept getting ill “week after week” in the first few months of 2022.
Doctors put these bouts of sickness down to viral and ear infections, but James said: “There were just lots of little things that weren’t adding up at the time.”
In May, Philippa took Oscar to the GP when he developed a rash and temperature, where he was prescribed antibiotics and sent home.
But the mum soon noticed a “pinprick purple rash” on Oscar’s eyelids that did not fade when pressed on, as well as a rash on his chest, so she took him back to a GP and he was referred to a paediatrician at Chesterfield Hospital.
Philippa called James, who met her and Oscar at hospital, while the medical team took blood samples.
The next morning, a team of four doctors called James and Philippa into a room.
Philippa, Oscar, Imogen and James Martin Credit: PA Real Life
James said Oscar underwent ‘hundreds’ of doses of chemotherapy Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
Philippa said: “As we entered the room, I noticed a box of tissues on the table, and my heart sank.
“The doctor informed us that our son had suspected leukaemia; it felt like my world had ended.
“From that moment, everything became serious.”
Oscar was blue-lighted to Sheffield Children’s Hospital and, by the end of that day, Oscar’s diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia was confirmed – with James saying their “lives changed forever”.
Within a week, Oscar had his first procedure to have a port fitted that would inject “high dose chemo” into his body.
James said Oscar entered the operating theatre as a “little boy who seemed fit and well” and came out “a different child”.
“He was a different colour,” James said. “It was like his soul was stripped out of his body.
“He didn’t want to talk to me and Philippa. He couldn’t really do anything.
Oscar and Philippa Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
Oscar undergoing cancer treatment Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
“He just wasn’t our little boy and he was in a lot of pain… I was watching a child struggling and I just wanted to swap positions with him because it was honestly so hard and so horrible.”
Over the next two years, Oscar underwent “hundreds and hundreds” of doses of chemotherapy, including an early type of the drug he had an allergic reaction to.
James said: “He ballooned up… it was scary having to get the ambulance to our house.”
Alongside this, Oscar picked up “several serious infections” throughout his two years of treatment, landing him in hospital for days and weeks at a time.
Philippa said: “Seeing my child needing oxygen support, wired to drips, unable to stay awake and shaking with high temperatures was very difficult as a parent.”
Oscar started primary school while still undergoing treatment, but he was “mostly absent” due to the risk of catching illnesses from others.
Despite these absences, Oscar has been able to make friends and keep up academically with others.
The tot completed his treatment on July 7, 2024, but James said his son still experiences regular “night terrors” and “anxiety attacks”.
James said ‘gardening together’ with Oscar has helped them both Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
What is acute lymphoblastic leukaemia?
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is a type of cancer that affects white blood cells. It progresses quickly and aggressively and requires immediate treatment.
Around 750 people diagnosed with the condition each year in the UK.
Although it is rare, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is the most common type of leukaemia that affects children.
Symptoms include:
pale skin
feeling tired and breathless
unusual and frequent bleeding gums or nosebleeds
high temperature
night sweats
bone and joint pain
easily bruised skin
swollen lymph nodes
tummy (abdominal pain) – caused by a swollen liver or spleen
unintentional weight loss
a purple skin rash
James said: “In an ideal world, what seven-year-old is suffering with anxiety?”
Throughout it all, James said “gardening together” with Oscar has helped them both, physically and mentally.
James said: “The garden became our escape. It gave us somewhere to breathe, somewhere to focus on something positive and somewhere to make memories together when life felt very uncertain.”
James shares Oscar’s story via Instagram, where he said he hopes to “try and help” as many people as possible who might be struggling after a cancer diagnosis.
James said: “Sometimes it’s good to speak to somebody who’s actually done it.
“So when somebody is really struggling and going through hell, we’ve been there.
“I’ve had so many messages in the last few years… so it’s nice to be able to pass on that advice.”
For James, it is all about trying to turn a “negative into a positive” by giving others hope that there is life after cancer.
Find out more about The Children and Young People’s Cancer Association here.
