Slammin' Sammy B's on the ball to thank medics for rare cancer care

Youngster kicks off match to secure cash for hospital

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A RUGBY-loving nine-year-old boy tackling a rare type of cancer has raised more than £1,590 for a hospital charity after kicking off a match with his family - to say thanks for his ongoing care.

Our sister paper The Sentinel has reported how Sammy Balmforth, from Biddulph, has been fighting acute lymphoblastic leukaemia since his diagnosis in January.

Sammy was undergoing a routine blood test at the Royal Stoke for an existing condition called immune thrombocytopenia when his doctors spotted markers for leukaemia.

Sammy's parents, Barney and Nicola, were devastated by their little boy's shock diagnosis but between an ambulance transfer to Birmingham Children's Hospital and its specialist paediatric oncology team implementing an immediate treatment plan, they had little time to digest it.

Within hours of his diagnosis Sammy was admitted to the oncology ward and had undergone a procedure to fit a central line, which shortly after began delivering his first round of chemotherapy treatment.