Boy's 'growing pains' turned out to be cancer

IN 2023, proud parents Steph and Jordan were told one of the most awful things a parent can hear - their eight-year-old son had cancer.

- HOLLY MORGAN

In the weeks leading up to his diagnosis, Frazer had been complaining to his parents of leg pain, so they took him to the GP, who diagnosed him with “growing pains”. But as the weeks went by, the so-called “growing pains” were not going away, and both Steph and Jordan knew it was something a lot more serious.

“Frazer is, and was, a really active little boy,” said Steph, 36.

“He'd be running across the football field fine and then on the way back he would have a little limp, and complained of pain in his knee.

“On December 12, 2023, we were supposed to have a GP appointment but they ended up cancelling it. At the time, Frazer was playing rugby at the Scarlets' stadium in Llanelli and he again complained of pain but said he did not want to stop playing.

“We knew it was more than just growing pains, and we had to fight to physically see a GP. Eventually, when we got to see a doctor, they referred us straight away to our local hospital, Glangwili, in Camarthen.

“Following an X-ray and a CT scan, the hospital said they thought he had an infection in his knee, possibly an abscess, that needed to be drained straight away. Overnight we were transferred to Noah's Ark in Cardiff and in the morning Frazer would be going in for surgery to drain the 'abscess.”

After the surgery, the surgeon said something did not seem right and a biopsy was performed the next day. At this point, Jordan described how Frazer was in a lot of pain and could not walk.

After a gruelling two-week wait in a hospital an hour and a half away from home, two days before Christmas, on December 23, 2023, Steph and Jordan received the call that it was “highly likely” Frazer had osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. They chose to keep this news to themselves, to ensure Frazer and his brother, Nathan, had a normal and happy Christmas.