How ‘resilient, happy’ Dylan defied the odds and twice beat cancer
THE parents of a young boy from Derby have spoken about how their son’s cancer diagnosis affected their family.
Dylan Askin, eight, was just two years old when he was first diagnosed with cancer.
Dylan’s parents, Mike, 41, and Kerry, 34, first became concerned about their son on Christmas Day in 2015 when Dylan became disinterested in his food.
They believed he had a cold but when he failed to improve they took him to the walk-in clinic, before he was transferred to Royal Derby Hospital.
Mike, a personal trainer, said: “We basically walked straight in and got seen straight away and within five minutes we were in an ambulance to the Royal Derby.
“They sent him for an X-ray which came back and showed his right lung had collapsed, so they had to do a chest drain.
“A CT scan showed his lungs which were riddled with holes, but they didn’t know what had caused it because it was more advanced than anything they had seen.”
Dylan was eventually diagnosed by specialists with pulmonary langerhans cell histiocytosis, a rare form of lung cancer with unknown causes.
Doctors could not originally identify his illness due to his symptoms presenting themselves differently to what they had come to expect and the severity of his condition.
Mike and Kerry, from Shelton Lock, were warned by doctors that it was unlikely Dylan would survive treatment.
Mike said: “One of the doctors turned round to
Kerry and said ‘even if he does survive, he’s probably going to be brain dead anyway.’
“The recovery team came over from Nottingham, and Dylan started helping by trying to remove his catheter and one of the doctors said ‘does that really seem like he’s brain dead?.’
“He was in a bad way for a few days but he was taken off the ventilator on Valentine’s Day, but he contracted some form of virus in March which put him in a really bad way.
“We had him christened on the
Good Friday of that year, and on the Easter Saturday the decision was made to withdraw treatment because he was deteriorating and it looked like he was going to go at any minute.
“On the Sunday he started improving and came back to us.” Dylan’s condition continued to improve following a course of chemotherapy which proved successful. But, two years later, Mike and Kerry, who are also parents to sons Bryce, 11, and Logan, 5, were given the devastating news that the cancer had returned. Mike said: “He was on treatment for 18 months the first time, and because he was still seeing people from Great Ormand Street from a lung transplant point of view, he was having a two-year transplant assessment to take him off the register. “They sent us a letter detailing it and in that letter said there was a small bony lesion in his spine, which was the first we knew it had come back.” The family received confirmation from the hospital while they were on holiday in France with Make a Wish, and they took the decision to keep it from Dylan for the duration of the holiday so they could enjoy it as a family. Despite his experiences, Mike said Dylan has coped well with all his treatment.
One of the doctors said even if he does survive, he’s probably going to be brain dead anyway.
Mike Askin
“He’s very resilient and a very happy young boy as well,” his dad said.
“Even through it all, he would walk in and light up a room, he’s a very strong man and he makes it very easy to handle things because he’s such a bright soul.”
Dylan successfully finished treatment for his cancer in December 2020, a year ahead of schedule, and MRI scans showed the cancer had cleared and he was just left with the extensive damage to his spine caused by the cancer.
Now, Mike and Kerry are determined to raise as much money as possible for PASIC, the charity that supported them throughout Dylan’s illness and treatment.
The couple are taking on four halfmarathons in the charity’s name, including the Derby half marathon and the Robin Hood marathon in Nottingham. Mike said: “Kerry started running as a way of dealing with her PTSD, and I did it as a way of supporting her.
“We felt very isolated in hospital but our PASIC nurse always came to see us, offering comfort during the hard times.”
“PASIC have really helped ease the pain of losing friends who felt awkward about facing us.
“They created opportunities to start again and make new friends who do understand.”
“They supported us through both Dylan’s cancer battles and will continue to be there for us for up to three years now Dylan has finished treatment. This is the reason we’re running for them.”
You can donate to Mike and Kerry’s fundraiser at https://www.justgiving. com/fundraising/teamdylanforpasic