Boosted by Mail readers, Finn finishes chemo at last
FOR almost half his life six-year-old Finn Martin has known little apart from chemotherapy and hospitals.
But on Saturday the child who was the face of the Daily Mail’s Quids for Kids campaign was finally able to declare that his cancer treatment is over. Finn and his family rang an ‘End of Treatment’ bell as they reached the top of the London Eye ferris wheel to mark finishing chemotherapy.
The boy, who was diagnosed with leukaemia at three and a half years old, had spent so long battling the disease that he could not remember when he did not have it.
Our campaign, working with the Make-AWish Foundation, urged readers to give old round pound coins to charity and featured Finn in October 2017.
Generous readers raised more than £150,000 to make dreams come true for youngsters fighting life-threatening conditions. Finn, from Warminster, Wiltshire, had always dreamt of going to Lapland but his gruelling treatment programme made travelling difficult. However, in December 2017, the Quids for Kids Campaign sent Finn, parents Debbie and Andy and brother Archie to visit Father Christmas.
The trip to London on Saturday marked the last of the 1,173 days he has spent being treated for leukaemia. Mrs Martin said the family ‘had the most amazing day’ on the London Eye. She added: ‘We were taking photos and we were holding the bell – people didn’t have a clue what was going on.’
The End of Treatment Bell scheme gives children a symbolic moment to tell the world cancer treatment is over. Mrs Martin said Finn ‘needed the whole pod’ to contain his energy and excitement at finishing chemo.