Barney Scaife developed a dry cough at the age of seven, which persisted despite endless treatment.
By the age of nine, he had been diagnosed with cancer and had had his left lung removed.
For him and his family, it was a horrendous time which still has a huge impact on their daily lives more than three years on.
His mother Phoebe Scaife told The i Paper: “It’s a lot seeing a child going through that. It was a lot to come to terms with. We were completely lost and didn’t know what was going on.
“Everything happened so quickly, you don’t think about anything. You don’t know where to go next and what to do next.
What has helped to sustain the family, from Newbury, Berkshire, has been the support of their specialist cancer social worker, Sarah, from the charity Young Lives vs Cancer.
Ms Scaife said: “Sarah understood the situation we were in. When she got in contact with us, it was the first time we had someone who was there for us.”
Barney had a tumour in his lung and a biopsy confirmed it was Bronchial Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma (Photo: Young Lives vs Cancer)Barney had had a persistent cough from September 2022 and by the following March, he had been diagnosed with viral asthma and given steroid inhalers. They helped a little, but the cough continued and then he started to go off his food.
“Around that time, he started becoming fussy with his eating”, said Ms Scaife, “He had always been a good eater. And he was losing a bit of weight.”
Less than a year later, he started being sick unexpectedly and his mother took him back to the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading. After an X-ray, he was diagnosed with pneumonia, treated and then discharged.
However, at an eight-week check-up, it appeared part of his left lung had collapsed and he was referred for a CT scan.
Doctors decided he needed a more detailed CT scan, so he was referred to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
It was this which finally revealed he had a tumour in his lung and a biopsy confirmed it was bronchial mucoepidermoid carcinoma.
It is a form of cancer which cannot be treated with chemotherapy.
Within days of the official diagnosis, Barney had a team of paediatric and thoracic surgeons operating on him in a rare procedure to remove his left lung.
The operation in August 2024 went well and he was discharged from hospital after five days.
“They told us he could go back to live life as normal”, said Ms Scaife, “But it’s not really. Everything had happened so quickly and we were then in this new normal. And that’s when they put us in touch with Sarah at Young Lives vs. Cancer.”
Barney underwent surgery almost immediately after his cancer diagnosis (Photo: Young Lives vs Cancer)Sarah would call the family every other day at first and she provided emotional and practical support.
During the endless trips to and from hospital appointments, the family racked up massive bills paying for petrol, parking (£15 a day) and spending on food while they stayed at the hospital with Barney.
Families dealing with cancer can face an average of £700 in extra costs per month during treatment.
At the same time, Phoebe, who is self-employed, had to try and manage her workload from a laptop in hospital waiting rooms.
Sarah was able to give the family details of schemes they could apply for to help with travel costs. She would be on hand at hospital to liaise with medical teams.
And when Barney was due to go back to school in the September after his operation, it was Sarah who paved the way for a smooth transition.
“She was able to explain to the school what had happened and provide them with information so they were prepared”, said Ms Scaife.
Barney has been given the all-clear from cancer and is returning to a ‘new normal life’ (Photo: Young Lives vs Cancer)Barney, now aged 10, has now been given the all-clear but still needs to have MRI scans every three months.
He is back at his primary school four and a half days a week, enjoying his Year 6.
But the impact of the cancer continues for the whole family.
For Barney and his younger brother Freddie, their mum revealed “they have had to grow up very quickly and deal with things no child should.”
She has sought counselling to help her come to terms with it all.
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Through it all has been Sarah, as Ms Scaife pointed out: “It’s about having someone there for you when you most need them.”
The i Paper‘s Christmas Appeal needs readers’ help to raise £100,000 for Young Lives vs Cancer.
Just £26 could fund an hour of support from a specialist social worker like Sarah, while £100,000 could pay for hardship grants for 398 young people and families struggling with the unexpected costs of cancer.
A Home for Christmas appeal
The i Paper is proud to support Young Lives vs Cancer through its Christmas Appeal, A Home for Christmas, helping to make a lasting difference for families with children facing cancer.
The appeal aims to raise £100,000 to ensure the charity can continue providing vital, tailored support – from financial guidance and emotional care to its “Homes from Home” accommodation centres, which allow families to stay together near hospital during treatment.
To donate, visit younglivesvscancer.org.uk/i-appeal or text IPAPERTEN to 70580 to donate £10 or IPAPERTWENTY to donate £20.*Texts will cost the donation amount plus one standard network rate message.
What your money could buy
£5 could print five storybooks to help a child understand the cancer treatment they are having. £10 could buy food so families can cook a meal to enjoy together away from the hospital canteen. £18 helps power a Home from Home for a day. £52 means a social worker could provide emotional and practical support (such as applying for financial help or attending difficult appointments) so children and their families don’t have to face cancer alone. £70 could pay for a family stay in a Young Lives vs Cancer Home from Home so they can be near their child in hospital with cancer. £100 could fund a hardship grant for families.Hence then, the article about we were completely lost how barney 9 went from coughing to losing a lung was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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