Catmose College say, 'Ben has been an inspiration to many of us at Catmose,
any help to support him would be appreciated'
Ben's family are appealing for donations to fund a urgent life-saving cancer op.
Ben is a wonderful, kind hearted, intelligent 13 year old boy.
He loves sport and desperately wants to go back to school.
Ben has a very rare cancerous tumour growing behind his right eye.
This week, the NHS told his family they could not fund the £100,000 needed for an operation, scheduled for the 4th September to remove his eye and the tumour.
Ben urgently needs this treatment in the next 2 weeks, the advice from his consultant is they cannot wait until September 13th when the decision to deny funding may be reviewed.
The family must find a way to raise the money ourselves.
Ben Tylecote is a sporty 13 year old boy who goes to the local school, Catmose College, Oakham.
his family noticed that Ben’s right eye was sticking out last summer and he was diagnosed in June 2016 with a tumour in the muscle behind the eye - Rhabdomyosarcoma.
He has endured a year of chemotherapy and proton beam therapy and had his 13th Birthday in hospital having chemo.
Despite Ben’s inspiring emotional resilience and determination to move forward, the tumour hasn’t shrunk and the need for surgical intervention has reached a critical stage in order to prevent the cancer from spreading.
The tumour is continuing to grow and now Ben can’t use his right eye at all. Last month, Ben was ready for surgery to have the eye removed but it was called off at the last minute to review all options.
The medical team has referred Ben to an Amsterdam hospital to ensure the best outcome for him. The eye and tumour will be removed and the area will be treated with a localised radiotherapy called brachytherapy, where an isotope is applied locally.
This is very specialist treatment and is close to the brain and pituitary gland.
This operation in Amsterdam will cost at least £100,000 and he was due to fly out next week.
The NHS have been fantastic but have denied funding for this operation.
His family have been amazed at Ben’s patience and tolerance throughout all the treatment.
He has missed a lot of lessons this year and has visited his school to help the other children learn about cancer and that it is not contagious!
Please help us in any way you can.
Thank you
Steve, Fiona, Ben and Jamie
