Reader TTS

REECE KHAN FACES GRUELLING TREATMENT AND HAS BEEN GIVEN A ONE IN FIVE CHANCE OF SURVIVAL BY MEDICS 08:11, 30 May 2025 The family of a boy who has faced the devastating return of cancer

he'd been clear of for 18 months are issuing an urgent call for a stem cell donor. His parents were given the terrible news when it was discovered the disease had spread to his brain on

his 16th birthday. Reece Khan will now undergo gruelling treatment and has been told by doctors that he has a one-in-five chance of surviving. His mum Selina Niman, a 51-year-old care

worker from Lincoln, shared that the devastating news has absolutely "broken" the family. Reece was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), a rare cancer that affects

the blood and bone marrow, at the age of 11 in March 2020, days before the first Covid lockdown. Mrs Niman said it was "absolutely devastating" for the family, adding: "It was

horrendous. And because it was Covid, we couldn't have any visitors up here." Reece, who loves baking and watching food programmes, also had further complications due to having

type 1 diabetes. He was told he was cancer-free 18 months ago after three and a half years of treatment. However, he started getting headaches earlier this year and went to hospital for an

MRI scan in April. The next day – his 16th birthday – Reece received the news that his cancer had returned and spread to his brain. His chemotherapy will be much stronger and he will need

radiotherapy and a stem cell transplant. Mrs Niman said: "He's scared now. I said, 'You beat it once, you can beat it again'. "We're just broken as a family. We

just don't know what else to do or where to go. Words cannot explain how we feel now. "I just want to jump in his hospital bed and swap places with him." As Reece is mixed

race, it will be harder for him to find a stem cell donor. Reece's brother Kyle, 25, has been tested and is a half match. The family are working with the charity Anthony Nolan, which is

searching worldwide registers to find a full match and give the treatment the best chance of success. Selina said: "Reece is mixed race, white and Asian, and it's harder to find a

match. "That's why it's so important that as many people as possible join the stem cell register. Go to the Anthony Nolan website and order a swab. "It's just a

swab for the inside of your cheek. It's not painful. Stick it back in an envelope and that is all it takes. Literally a minute of your time and it would mean the world to me, to me and

Reece." Rowena Bentley, head of programme and community recruitment at Anthony Nolan, said: "Reece's story is especially poignant because he was told about the relapse on his

16th birthday; the date that young people can join the Anthony Nolan register and potentially save a life. "It's vital that we raise awareness of stem cell donation and encourage

more people to join the register. "We know that younger stem cell donors give patients the best chance of survival. That's why we're calling on healthy 16 to 30-year-olds to

join the register now, so that people like Reece can have a second chance at life." Article continues below JOIN THE MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS WHATSAPP GROUP HERE