A FLINTSHIRE family has spoken out about the devastating effects a brain tumour has had on them – and what they’re doing to make a difference.

The Leader previously reported how Buckley boy Aaron Wharton suffered a relapse of an anaplastic ependymoma brain tumour.

It comes after the happy little five-year-old started school last September at Southdown Primary and his family were given the heart-breaking news as the summer holidays began.

His family has now partnered with the charity Brain Tumour Research to share their story of heartbreak this month, which is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month (CCAM).

Mum Nicola Wharton knows all too well the devastation of a childhood brain cancer diagnosis.

She said: “To think that someone so small could go through what Aaron’s endured, is inconceivable.

“I also struggle to comprehend why there isn’t more funding into brain tumour research, especially when you consider that the disease kills more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer.

“I am committed to helping to raise awareness of the issues surrounding brain tumours, having first-hand experience of the devastation they cause.

“They can't even tell us how long we have with him because it's so unpredictable. It's just a really difficult thing to listen to and try to take in and then make sense of it all. At the same time, you try to be strong for Aaron and not show that you're upset or you’re worried.

“We just need to take each day as it comes. We'll just try and do as much as we can do as a family and just try and carry on as normal.

“We just want him to have as much fun as he can while he's well enough to. We'll just treat him to anything and everything that he wants. Whatever he wants to do, we'll do.

“He loves going to the zoo, so we'll definitely be having a lot of zoo visits. And he loves Lego, so we'll try and organize a trip to Legoland. Anything that puts a smile on his face is what we’ll do.”

Joe Woollcott, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research added: “In sharing Aaron’s powerful story, the Wharton family is highlighting the devastation of a childhood brain tumour diagnosis. To hear that a young person has been diagnosed with brain cancer is shattering.

“Hope lies in the research taking place at the Brain Tumour Research Centres of Excellence, which will help us get closer to a cure.

“But while the money continues to come in from campaigners and fundraisers, it comes from the British public, and we need more commitment from the Government and larger cancer charities, to help fund the discovery science that will deliver the innovations we need in our area.

“It is only through working in a joined up, thought-through manner that we can achieve the outcome we so desperately need.”

To find out more about our Childhood Cancer Awareness Month activities, including how you can donate and help Brain Tumour Research get closer to a cure please visit: Childhood Cancer Awareness Month (braintumourresearch.org).