Brave Kidderminster toddler fronts national poster campaign to help save lives
A Kidderminster toddler who survived cancer against the odds has been chosen to front a national poster campaign to help save the lives of more youngsters like her.
Each January, three-year-old Wendie-Lou Smith and her family celebrate her ‘re-birthday’ to mark the anniversary of her life-saving stem cell transplant. This year, her third anniversary has added poignancy because the youngster is the face of a national campaign for Cancer Research UK for Children and Young People.
Pictured smiling on her first week back at school, Wendie-Lou’s inspirational poster appears in hundreds of the charity’s shops across the country carrying a powerful message of hope – “Research makes moments like this possible”.
It’s especially appropriate for Wendie-Lou, who was enrolled onto a clinical trial called ‘MyeChild 01’ after being diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Lymphoma (AML) – a type of blood cancer - at just four months old.
Mum Sammie was told standard treatment could only prolong her life. But the trial, involving new targeted drugs, meant she was able to recover enough to receive a life-saving stem cell transplant from a donated umbilical cord.
With around 610 new cancer cases diagnosed in children and young people in the Midlands every year, Sammie hopes the posters will inspire people to donate to help fund more vital breakthroughs in research.
Sammie, who lost her sister Megan Smith to bowel cancer aged 27 - just a year before her daughter’s diagnosis, said: “I’ll never forget being told Wendie-Lou had cancer – it was the worst time of my life.
“At one point, she was so poorly I had to call my family to intensive care because it was touch and go whether she would pull through.
“I’m so grateful for the clinical trial because, without it, she wouldn’t have been well enough for the transplant. Now we celebrate her transplant day as her ‘re-birthday’ each year because that’s exactly what it is – the day she was given a new chance at life.
“To see her smiling out at people on the campaign poster is just amazing. I’m so incredibly proud of her and the fact that she’s part of something that will help drive more of the scientific progress that she’s benefited from.”
Wendie-Lou was diagnosed with AML after developing a rash and bumps on her skin in October 2022. After repeated visits to the GP, hospital tests confirmed Sammie’s worst fears and Wendie-Lou was given immediate chemotherapy. Within a week she was in intensive care where she was put on a clinical trial in a desperate effort to save her life.
“At first my concerns were put down to anxiety after everything I’d been through with my sister,” said Sammie. “But I knew something wasn’t right and so I kept pushing for answers.
“By day four of her chemotherapy, she had to go into intensive care because she was struggling to breathe. She is such a fighter though and her positive response to the trial drug shocked all the doctors.”
Successful treatment meant Wendie-Lou was well enough to receive her stem cell transplant in Glasgow on January 18, 2023. During her recovery phase, Sammie had to spend three months with her daughter at the Royal Hospital for Children before she was finally allowed home.
“Thanks to the treatment Wendie-Lou received, we’ve been able to enjoy so many more birthdays, memories and milestones which were impossible to imagine when she was first diagnosed,” added Sammie.
“Having Wendie-Lou’s face in hundreds of shop windows across the UK on the anniversary of her stem cell transplant is the best celebration of how far she’s come.
“It’s all down to research which is why raising money for Cancer Research UK for Children & Young People is so vital. We’re urging shoppers to give what they can to help more families like ours make more precious moments together – big and small.”
Cancer Research UK has helped to more than double children’s cancer survival in the UK since the 1970s. Today, more than 8 in 10 children and young people diagnosed with cancer in the UK survive for at least 10 years, but there’s still much further to go.
That’s why, in Birmingham, the charity funds the UK’s largest clinical trials unit dedicated to all children’s cancers. The team based at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, co-ordinates groundbreaking studies that make innovative new treatments available to children and young people with cancer across the UK.
Cancer Research UK spokesperson for the Midlands, Paula Young, said: “Cancer is different in children and young people – from the types of cancers that affect this age group to the long-term effects of treatment, such as hearing loss and infertility. So, it needs a different and dedicated approach to research that we’re grateful to our customers and supporters for helping to make possible.
“Their generosity is enabling our scientists to unlock discoveries about these cancers and translate them into new and better ways to diagnose and treat them. So, we hope as many people as possible get behind our mission to ensure more youngsters like Wendie-Lou live longer, better lives free from the fear of cancer.”
Donate in-store or online at cruk.org/childrenandyoungpeople
