Jude fought to help others until the day he died aged just 12
RIGHT up until the day he died, 12-year-old Jude Anderton was raising money to fund research into the cruel disease that would claim his life.
The youngster, from Urmston, passed away in February following a 10-month battle with bone cancer.
Jude knew that research into the disease wasn’t as well-funded as other cancers. No matter how ill he became, he was always passionate about making a change.
Throughout his gruelling treatment, he would make hama bracelets and take them into school to sell.
He would also spread the word about the disease and urge others to fundraise with him. Jude, who had three younger brothers, continued to do this until he died.
His mum Helen, 41, described her son as an incredible young boy who was ‘full of life.’
He fought hard every day, but his cancer was too aggressive.
“Jude was always fit and healthy,” Helen said. “Then one day last February he came home saying he had an ache in his arm.
“He loved his sports, he was a member of the Wythenshawe Gymnastics Club, so at first we thought he’d pulled a muscle, and so did the GP. But then a week later, the top of his right arm started to swell up and Jude was in excruciating pain so we rushed him to hospital. He had an x-ray and straight away I could see this big horrible mass in his bone.”
Further scans also revealed tumours in Jude’s lungs, and after travelling to a hospital in Birmingham for a biopsy, he began chemotherapy on Ward 84 at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
The youngster battled the disease for 10 months, undergoing a sevenhour operation to try and remove the affected bone from his arm and shoulder, which was replaced with titanium. Tragically, Jude’s cancer continued to grow despite the chemotherapy.
“The doctors described it as the ‘run away train,’” Helen added.
“They just couldn’t catch it. It was just too big a fight for his little body.”
Following Jude’s death, Helen and her husband Paul, 48, decided they wanted to continue his legacy by fundraising for Bone Cancer Research Trust.
“There’s very little research into bone cancer, and it gets no government funding,” Helen said.
“The treatment plan that Jude was on would have been the same as if he had been treated in the 1970s.
“Jude knew this, he knew all about it, and even until a few days before he died he would be making hama bracelets to try and sell to raise money. We never told him how bad the prognosis was, but he always said that when he was better he wanted to do something big to raise money – he had fundraising ideas planned for the rest of his life, marathons and things.”
Jude, who went to English Martyrs RC School, never got the chance to do those things.
Last weekend, one of Jude’s neighbours hosted a street party on Glenhaven Avenue in Urmston in his memory. More than 450 people attended, raising £5,000 for the charity he held so close to his heart.
There was a raffle, games, sports, face painting and each driveway had its own stall.
Karen Morley, who organised the event, said: “We watched in awe as he raised money himself as he fought his battle. We felt we wanted to continue his legacy as he was such an inspiration to so many.”
To donate to Jude’s fundraising, visit https://www.justgiving.com/ fundraising/glenhavenstreetparty