Seven-year-old Riley Maclennan from Scotland was only two years old when he got cancer for the first time. In December 2016, the family began to detect bruises on his legs and abdomen. He was later diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia.
After a four-year battle, Riley was finally able to ring the bell at the hospital in October 2020, to mark that he was in remission, ie on the road to recovery.
But just six months later, the family received the heartbreaking counter-message: Riley had been diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, a type of blood cancer that is very rare in children. according to the local news agency Iverness Courier.
Anton’s (10) fight against cancer
Stem cell treatment
For the family, it was a heavy message to receive. It is not often that children are diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, but now Riley was one of the few in the statistics.
– We were told that Riley was the only child in Scotland with whom they had seen this happen. They could only find one similar case in the United States, says father Kevin Maclennan to Iverness Courier, adding:
– After everything Riley had been through, we were crushed. Riley had grown up with cancer, and just when we finally thought we were going to put that chapter in our lives behind us, we moved back to square one.
Opens up about the horror damage
CANCER TWICE: Last year, Riley got cancer for the second time. Here with dad Kevin. Photo: Paul Campbell / SWNS
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The doctors informed the family that Riley’s best chance of recovery was a stem cell transplant using umbilical cord blood stem cells.
The seven-year-old received the stem cell transplant from a newborn baby’s umbilical cord in September last year. He later went through chemotherapy and was in isolation at a hospital in Glasgow, according to local media.
Riley is now in remission again, and the future looks brighter for the family.
– It’s a new mother out there who saved our boy’s life. We have received the world’s best gift. The stem cells from the umbilical cord looked like a small bag of blood, but they had incredible power. There are no signs of leukemia cells anymore. It means everything in the world to us, says the father, and adds:
– Riley has the ability to get back on his feet and we are so proud of him.
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