Family heartbroken as teenager’s agonising back pain turns out to be cancer – The Mirror

Oliver Williams, from Polegate, East Sussex, was “in absolute agony” with the pain “getting worse and worse” before doctors diagnosed the 16-year-old with leukaemia

Oliver Williams has been diagnosed with leukaemia

A young man who was suffering from back pains was devastated to learn he had leukaemia.

Oliver Williams had been struggling with back pains which doctors initially suspected was a lumbar sprain.

Following further tests in September this year, the 16-year-old learned he had cancer, Sussex Live reported.

He has since started intense treatment which has caused a big strain on his parents Sian and Richard.

The family require adaptations to be made to their house to support Oliver, who currently cannot complete even the simplest task unaided.

The 16-year-old thought he just had back pains

Brogan Blake, Oliver’s Aunt, has said the family was in shock following the diagnosis.

“The news absolutely floored us, we were not expecting it,” said the mum-of-two.

“It started with back pain and the GP said it was a lumbar sprain and sent Oliver to a hydrotherapy pool.

“He was in absolute agony, the doctors were providing him with diazepam and codeine, but it just kept getting worse and worse.

“It got to the point where Oliver couldn’t move, so they took him to the GP in a wheelchair.”

After a vicious cycle where Oliver was being seen to by paramedics, treated with painkillers then discharged, the family decided more had to be done.

He had numerous CT scans, MRI scans and blood tests to find out the cause of the pain.

The family were informed that Oliver would have to go for more tests at the Royal Marsden, which is when the ominous signs began to appear.

“The normal thing to do is to Google the hospital,” Brogan continued.

“When you do that, the Marsden is listed as a specialist cancer hospital, that was the first indication that this could be something really serious.”

Oliver then tested positive for Covid-19 and was sent straight into isolation at the Marsden, a bone marrow biopsy and a lumbar puncture confirmed his leukaemia diagnosis at this time.

Oliver is now under care at the Royal Marsden and the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton.

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Source: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/family-heartbroken-teenagers-agonising-back-25419395