Milo's Mission

This is Milo. Our beautiful, smiley, happy-go-lucky, loving little two-year-old boy. Milo was a force of nature, absolutely bursting with life and he made friends with everyone he met. He loved dinosaurs, trains, planes & helicopters, the playground, complex jigsaw puzzles, reading books, and his family. He was doing so well at nursery and was speaking with the vocabulary of a 3–4-year-old. He loved football and we took him to football practice at least once a week. He was a bit of a jet setter and visited lots of different countries.

Milo was an active, healthy toddler until around a month before his diagnosis. He usually had a great appetite and had a full second dinner once he got home from nursery but we noticed he wasn’t quite as hungry. He was also not going to the toilet as much and was less boisterous than usual, although these changes were subtle. He had started potty training at the exact same time the symptoms appeared and was resisting it quite a lot so initially we put it down to that. He was also looking paler and he was acting lethargic and his stomach was becoming more distended. 

Milo was diagnosed with Wilms Tumour. Wilms tumour has a really good prognosis, and initially we were told Milo’s cancer was curable and we were so relieved. Milo’s cancer was localised, stage 2 and standard risk, all really good news. Unfortunately, the tumour had also grown into and up his Inferior Vena Cava “IVC” (the main vein in your body) and into the right atrium of his heart. Less than 10% of cases have this extension. It was so scary to see the MRI and see the tumour in Milo’s heart.

Milo’s treatment plan was chemotherapy, followed by complex surgery and more chemotherapy/radiotherapy. Unfortunately, things went wrong pretty much immediately. Milo’s chemotherapy did not shrink his tumour and he quickly deteriorated which led to him going on an intubator and ultimately leading to multi-organ failure. He made it through his surgery to remove the tumour. Unfortunately, five days afterwards on 26th November 2024, Milo tragically deteriorated and passed away, less than 6 weeks after he was diagnosed.

Before Milo was diagnosed, we ashamedly knew very little about childhood cancer. We thought it was rare, but it’s not. It can also grow ridiculously fast. Early symptoms can be vague and similar to lots of other common illnesses so even the medical professionals don’t suspect it. In Milo’s memory, we want to raise money to help increase awareness and help other children get diagnosed faster.

Milo suffered greatly from the side effects of his chemotherapy treatment. Chemotherapy is very toxic, and even for those children who survive, many have long term health complications from chemotherapy and radiotherapy. We are also raising money to help fund much needed research into kinder treatments for children, so other children don’t have to suffer like Milo.

Milo was a brave and kind boy throughout his life and treatment. We are so blessed to have spent two and a half years with him.  In Milo’s memory, we want to make a difference so other families don’t have to go through what we have.