Rustington family finds two-year-old has cancer – in the same week dad gets the all clear

A Rustington couple has been blessed with the kindness of strangers after their two-year-old son was diagnosed with cancer.
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Only last year, 32-year-old Darren Pannell was battling his own bowel cancer but on June 12, in the same week he was given the all clear, he learned his son George had Stage 4 neuroblastoma.

It was devastating news, after four years of emotional turmoil in the family, for various reasons, including Darren’s mum also having cancer.

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Darren and his wife Roxanne Pannell, 35, have four other children at home, plus George’s three half-siblings, and they face two years of supporting George through treatment, with only a few family members and friends close by.

Two-year-old George with parents Darren and Roxanne PannellTwo-year-old George with parents Darren and Roxanne Pannell
Two-year-old George with parents Darren and Roxanne Pannell

Through the Facebook page Superstar George’s Fight, people in the area and others across the country have come together to help, including setting up a team of volunteers to provide daily dinners for the family and launching a GoFundMe page.

Roxanne said: “It is the only good thing about lockdown, the fact that everyone here is home.

“It is strangers that are helping us. People have gone out of their way to donate money for George, so we are going to make sure it goes to him, for anything he needs.”

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It started at the end of April, when George came up with what looked like hives. Three days later, Roxanne found him slumped over by the sofa, screaming.

She had just popped upstairs to use the bathroom and wondered if he had fallen over in the short time she had been out of the room.

She said: “He was crying and crying. The pain was so bad, he couldn’t walk. By the end of the day, we realised something wasn’t right.”

At first, they were told George had a virus but two weeks later, he was worse and had stopped eating.

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Roxanne said: “He just lay on the sofa all day. He was screaming in pain and he was by now not liking the light, putting a cloth over his eyes.”

The couple sought a second opinion and tests at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester found his white blood count was down.

George was referred to a specialist, who found fluid on his hip, and he was rushed to Southampton Children’s Hospital on May 30 for an operation.

Roxanne said: “They drained the fluid and tests showed it was a bone infection.”

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However, George continued to be sweating constantly, even after the infection was gone, so further tests were done.

George was allowed home for a few days, awaiting results, but the very next day, the couple was called and asked to return to Southampton.

Roxanne said: “We were told it was cancer of the nerve endings and it had already spread. I can’t describe how it makes you feel. It is one of the worst feelings and it just doesn’t go.

“He has a tumour above the kidney, in both leg bones, the pelvis, most of the vertebrae and in the skull.

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“At the moment, they are treating it to cure. He has a 50 per cent chance of survival. While they feel they can do something, we are just staying as hopeful as we can.”

George has been put on an intensive treatment plan, including eight rounds of chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy and immunotherapy, which will take up to two years.

Throughout the cycles of treatment, he will be spending some time at home and some time in hospital. Roxanne hopes that on occasions, the whole family will be able to stay at the Ronald McDonald House in Southampton.

At the moment, with Darren on furlough, they are able to take it in turns to spend a week with George in hospital, while the other looks after the rest of the children at home.

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Roxanne said: “We have had a tough time over the past four years. My children have a very close bond.”

So far, £2,619 has been raised to support George.

Jodie Darke, who set up the GoFundMe appeal, said: “We hope we can support George and his family on their long, hard journey. We are raising this money to help the family through a very difficult time and to try to take some of their stress away.”

To support George, visit www.gofundme.com/f/please-help-george-and-his-family and to follow his journey, find Superstar George’s fight on Facebook.

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