A MUM and son who have been battling cancer for almost four years have both been given the all-clear.

Mum, Vici Rigby, and her son, George, were diagnosed with cancer within a few months of each other. Vici was diagnosed first with stage four bowel cancer, and just five months later her four-year-old son, George was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

But after three and a half years of treatment at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, George recently rang the bell to signify being given the all-clear, a few months after his mother had been discharged.

Vici, from Bromsgrove, said: “It feels quite surreal, when you are given that first diagnosis and know you’re looking at three years of treatment you never think the day is going to come. You get into the routine of hospital appointments and planning your lives around that then all of a sudden, we can now make plans, book a holiday and arrange things without the worry.”

The family decided to move from Bromsgrove to Tenby in Wales last summer, not long after Vici had completed her treatment.

But rather than transfer George’s ongoing treatment to a local hospital in Wales, Vici and husband, Jamie were so happy with the care George was receiving from the children’s cancer team at Worcestershire Royal Hospital that they undertook a monthly 350-mile seven-hour round trip so he could be treated at the hospital.

Vici said: “When George was first taken into hospital to get his diagnosis I was still recovering from surgery myself. But the team at Worcester were amazing, I honestly can’t praise them enough. There were a few times when both me and George were in hospital at the same time and they were all just brilliant. When we moved to Tenby last year we decided to keep George’s care with Worcester as the care we’ve received has been absolutely outstanding. We could have easily moved his care to Cardiff but we just didn’t want to leave Worcestershire Royal."

The family say they have worked hard to give George a relatively normal childhood.

Vici said: “He’s done everything his peers have done, we’ve tried to treat him as normally as possible and considering the treatment he has to have on a daily basis, it hasn’t stopped him doing anything. He plays football, goes swimming and is doing really well at school, he’s very active and bright and he hasn’t once complained about his situation.”

The Royal’s children and young people’s oncology nurse specialist Dawn Forbes said: “

We are in awe of George’s parents, Vici and Jamie.”