Tommy's my inspiration - he's my superhero

MUM'S ADMIRATION FOR SIX-YEAR-OLD WHO HAS BEATEN CANCER TWICE BUT FACES THIRD BATTLE

- By ELEANOR FLEMING

THE PARENTS of a six-year-old boy facing cancer for a third time have begun fundraising to give him the best possible chance of beating the disease.

At just two years old, in February 2022, Tommy Verbickas, from Sale, Greater Manchester, was diagnosed with Wilms tumour, a type of kidney cancer, after doctors discovered a mass on his left kidney.

He underwent chemotherapy, surgery and countless hospital visits, and he rang the end-oftreatment bell in November 2022, with his parents, Rebecca and Darius, believing "that chapter was closed".

However, Tommy has since relapsed twice and is facing cancer for a third time and his parents have been told his chance of cure is now low. With local treatment options being limited, the couple are fundraising for clinical trials and innovative therapies not available through the NHS to give him the best chance.

"At the time (of his first diagnosis), one of the play specialists said, 'If you're going to get cancer, this is the best cancer to get,'" Rebecca said.

"Now, looking back, I just think, how can she say that?