Family of cancer patient are not ready to give up
THE family of a mascot whose battle with terminal cancer has touched the world of football said he is doing well and they are “not ready to give up”.
Bradley Lowery, five, from Blackhall, County Durham, has been undergoing treatment to prolong his life after he was diagnosed with neuroblastoma. Last month, scans revealed a new tumour in the little Sunderland fan’s back.
His family said in a Facebook update for the thousands of well-wishers around the world that Bradley had been well enough to go to school for a few hours on Wednesday and had fun with friends.
They added: “In regards to treatment, we have been told that the liquid part of his bone marrow is clear but we still waiting for the hard part.
“The consultant believes we should continue with another two rounds of the antibody/ chemo combination as it is unclear if the new tumour grew before or through treatment.
“Bradley is set to go back in hospital on Monday to start the third round. He will get rescanned again after round four, so I am hoping and praying for better news. We are not ready to give up.”
Bradley has been picked to lead England out at Wembley in the World Cup qualifier against Lithuania this month.
He has already been a mascot for Sunderland, as well as for Everton, and was invited to the BBC Sports Personality of the Year show.
Earlier this season, Everton stunned his family by pledging £200,000 towards an appeal towards paying for groundbreaking treatment in the US. And a shot he struck in the warm-up during Sunderland’s game against Chelsea was picked as Match of the Day’s goal of the month.
When striker Jermain Defoe and other players visited Bradley at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle to cheer him up, the little boy gave the star a cuddle and fell asleep in his arms.
Sunderland manager David Moyes has praised the youngster, saying it reminded him there are more important things in life than football.
The Scot said that he had not known beforehand that his players were at the boy’s bedside, saying it was good for the game that they had done this following the bad image some players get.