A mum discovered her two-year-old son had cancer after he stubbed his toe. Zakariyah, known as Zak, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in May 2022 after his parents noticed the foot injury wasn’t healing.
Within weeks, Zak was on an intensive programme of chemotherapy and steroids treatment at The Royal Marsden Hospital - and his mum Amina said her "whole world was turned upside down".
The treatment intensified over a three-month period, to the point where Zak, now four, was receiving chemotherapy almost every day, causing his hair to fall out. READ MORE: Gran fighting for her life after hotel room incident on holiday Every six months Zak has a lumbar puncture, chemotherapy once a month, and several other drugs administered at home as part of his complicated treatment plan.
His mum Amina, 40, said: “When he was diagnosed I felt disbelief and shock. I felt overwhelmed and extremely worried. Because first thing in the morning we were told he had cancer and that an ambulance was waiting outside.