A MUM has explained how she didn’t know how to tell her nine-year-old daughter she had cancer.

Teiva Collins, 13, was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2019 after becoming breathless and pale. 

Although she has overcome the disease, she faces daily struggles due to the long-term side effects of her treatment.

Teiva, from Alton, is the face of a nationwide campaign to mark Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. 

The 13-year-old stars in a poster appeal for Cancer Research UK that features her picture on display in the Winchester, Alton and Southampton stores and various shops across the UK. 

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Her mum Dawn Collins said: “When Teiva was nine-years-old I noticed she’d been getting tired and breathless doing simple things like playing with her brother and sister and walking short distances. One day I asked her to pop to the post-box just two doors along and she just couldn’t manage it.

“She’d had a cold and I didn’t think too much of it but soon after, she suddenly went very pale. I knew she was anaemic so I looked up the symptoms online and it suggested it may be cancer. While I felt like I was in denial, I remembered back to when my Dad had leukaemia when I was in my twenties, so I joined all the dots and feared the worst.

“I pushed for a doctor’s appointment and a subsequent blood test the next day and by 10pm that night, I had a call from the Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital to say there were some abnormalities and to take her in straight away. 

Hampshire Chronicle: Teiva Collins

“When we sat down with the doctors, we opted for them to speak honestly in front of Teiva and they explained that she had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. I knew she didn’t understand that meant blood cancer but didn’t know how to tell her, so I asked the consultant the following day to explain that to her for me. I just didn’t know how to do it.

“She was diagnosed on May 1 and by May 4 she had her first chemotherapy on the Piam Brown ward in Southampton. She went through the intensive phase for around eight months and as well as losing her hair on more than one occasion, she was never really well with it. She spent a lot of time in hospital with infections and various problems and missed a huge amount of school. 

“When her treatment ended in July 2021, we held a big party and hoped that would mark the beginning of a new chapter, but sadly she’s suffered a lot of long-term side effects.

“We do try to keep a positive outlook on life and we do pull through with the best attitude. Teiva is an ambassador for the Little Princess Trust and we do what we can for Abby’s Heroes who have also helped us a lot. She loves her dance classes in and outside of school and enjoys doing her TikToks. She also wants to be a DJ when she’s older. 

“There aren’t the words for how grateful we are that she’s still here and that we can look to the future. The fact that Teiva is a poster girl for this important campaign makes us so proud. She’s dealt with so much and there was a time we didn’t know if she would survive, so the fact she will be seen in shop windows across the UK is mind-blowing.”

Find out more at cruk.org/childrenandyoungpeople.