Five-year-old Alec 'thriving' at school after rare cancer battle
Alec pictured celebrating his fifth birthday, a milestone doctors feared he would never make - Credit: Cancer Research UK
A Stowmarket youngster who was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer at just four months old is "thriving" as he starts his second year at school.
When Alec Carpenter was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in 2016, doctors feared he would not survive for more than a few weeks.
But Alec, now five, started treatment immediately and overcame the odds, starting at Chilton Community Primary School in Stowmarket last year.
Despite his ongoing treatment for cancer, Alec has managed to start writing and has overcome a lisp in his first year of education.
He has also become something of a go-to among his peers in mathematics, even though he has often have to play catch-up due to illness.
They were achievements mum Nicola, 42, and dad Glenn, 45, thought would never be possible.
Nicola said: "The school has been absolutely fantastic and Alec is thriving. His report is amazing.
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"Academically, Alec was over a year behind at one point, but he’s really determined and gets annoyed if anyone thinks he’s not capable of something.
"What he’s achieved over the last year is more than we could have hoped for."
Nicola and Glenn have urged people to clear out their wardrobes and donate any pre-loved clothes to their nearest TK Maxx shop as part of the retailer's Give Up Clothes for Good campaign raising cash for Cancer Research UK.
