A 15-year-old who has always been "fit and healthy" has been diagnosed with an extremely rare and aggressive cancer after doctors originally thought his symptoms were asthma.
Jude Hazard, 15, visited the doctors earlier this year after becoming breathless while doing everyday activities such as walking up the stairs. His breathlessness was thought to be symptoms of asthma until he visited A&E in July, where a scan revealed a huge 8cm tumour on the back of his heart.
Diagnosis and surgery
Jude was diagnosed with Intimal Sarcoma, a rare form of vascular cancer. Doctors have said the teen's cancer is so rare it is estimated to affect only one or two out of every 100 million people, and those affected are usually adults.
Surgeons have since removed the tumour, but there are no other treatment options available in the UK to kill the remaining cancer in the lining of his left atrium, Jude's family says. During the operation, Jude died for two minutes, his family has revealed, and the surgeons were unable to remove the tumour fully, leaving parts of it in his left atrium lining.
Family's response and crowdfunding
Jude, from Silksworth, in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, said: "I am feeling okay at the moment. I just want everything to go back to normal so I can continue to just live my life as I used to do. I am currently enjoying my time with friends."
Jude's mum Katie Hazard, 39, said the surgeons and doctors have all said what a "strong, courageous boy" her son is. "Jude is well liked and a very sociable kid," she said. "He loves nothing more than being out with friends, eating out and loves good food. He attends the gym daily, and is such a bright boy, loving, generous, caring and a thoughtful young man. We are just so grateful to everyone who has supported us through a GoFundMe page."
Treatment options abroad
The family is crowdfunding for potentially life-saving treatment, which is only available in Japan or America. They are aiming to raise £75,000 to ensure they can get started with the treatment. If no treatment can be found, he may only have a couple of months left to live.
Shaun Ward, 36, a cousin of Jude's, said: "The doctors said they have never seen a case in a child, which shows how rare it is." He said the family were "heartbroken" when they were told of the diagnosis. He revealed how Jude began feeling breathless in May while performing ordinary tasks.
Katie and his dad Daniel Hazard, 42, took him to his local GP, who thought it may be asthma and provided him with an inhaler. But after trying four different inhalers, there was no change in his symptoms, his family said. His parents then took him to Sunderland Hospital, where they performed a chest scan, where a large tumour was found on the back of his heart.
Jude was then blue-lighted to Freeland Hospital, in Newcastle, where he underwent five-hour emergency surgery to remove the tumour. Shaun says Jude is currently recovering and is feeling "positive" about the prospect of further treatment. He said: "He is feeling a lot better and is enjoying hanging out with his friends. As a family, we are just happy to have found it when we did as who knows how much longer it could have been until he stopped breathing."
Shaun will be completing the Three Peaks Challenge to raise funds for Jude in September. He said: "We are overwhelmed with the amount of support the community has shown us over the past couple of weeks. We are all hoping Jude can get back to normal soon."
