THE family of a boy who successfully battled a rare form of cancer is throwing its support behind a new charity campaign.

Sam Harwood, ten, is now doing well after being diagnosed with neuroblastoma in 2007 and undergoing gruelling chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

His parents Beverley and Peter, 48, from Brighton, ask people to support efforts by the Sparks charity to support research into conditions similar to Sam’s.

Sparks, which fundraises for research on medical conditions affecting babies and children, has launched the Dettol Baby Blanket Donation campaign.

It is asking parents to donate their used baby blankets and share their special recollections and photographs on Twitter and Facebook.

Blankets

The blankets will be redistributed by Dettol to families in need and the company will donate £1 to Sparks for every one collected.

Mrs Harwood, 44, said: “Sam needed high-dose chemotherapy. This meant six weeks in an isolation ward as he was prone to infections, which could have had serious repercussions for him.

“Sam did get an infection and was transferred to intensive care, put on a ventilator and fed through a tube.

“This was the most worrying time for us during his treatment – but he is a real little fighter.

“We were very lucky – the chemo worked well and Sam did not need surgery to remove his primary tumour.

“He did need some difficult radiotherapy and he made us so proud when having the treatment. Somehow he kept his spirits up and was an inspiration to all of the other patients around him.

“At the moment we consider ourselves very lucky that Sam has done so well. He is now years off treatment and is doing well.

“This is why it is crucial for continued research to be done, so the success rate in treating neuroblastoma can equal that of other cancer treatments.

“It is so important that Sparks is raising funds to undertake medical research into this silent cancer, which is so hard to detect, diagnose, treat and overcome.”

Sparks chief executive Zillah Bingley said: “By working together with Dettol we can make sure more children are born healthy and stay healthy.

“One in 30 babies in the UK is born with a condition which may affect them for life.

“Yet, each year less than £10 per child is spent on research into children’s health. “ Blanket donations will be collected until the end of December.

For full details, visit www.dettol.co.uk/donate.