Fundraiser for Clacton boy with leukaemia raises more than £6,000

Finley Rogers, three, of Clacton was diagnosed with T-Cell leukaemia, a rare form of cancer at the turn of the year.

His mother Becky Rogers said Finley celebrated his third Christmas full of energy but became very lethargic and developed unusual bruising in the new year.

She said: “It was a bit of a shock for us, we were taken to Colchester Hospital on the evening of January 8 because of the bruising.

“It took a couple of days to confirm his condition through his blood tests then he was sent to Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge and they confirmed it was T-Cell.

“He got his diagnosis on Tuesday and the hickman line and treatments were started on Wednesday.”

All smiles - Finley with his mum Becky and brother Ollie

The Hickman line is a central venous catheter which has been inserted into a vein in Finley’s neck and tunelled under the skin and then back out of his chest.

It us used to administer chemotherapy and other medicines as well as withdrawing blood for testing.

Finley will have his Hickman line for a minimum of three years.

Becky added: “Finley was incredibly outgoing, fun loving, caring and a cheeky chap before the diagnosis, since then not so much but we’re starting to see that again from him.

“T-cell is a rare type especially for children, when he was diagnosed there were A, B and C regiment options, A being the lightest and C being the most intense.

“He started on B and after 28 days he had a bone marrow test which showed the chemo was working but he wasn’t in full remission yet.”

 Finley has had to endure many side effects from the endless rounds of treatments he has received. 

After a series of regular headaches, Finley was given a CT scan, which showed an extensive venous sinus thrombosis. This is a blood clot at the front part of his head. 

Family - Mother Becky, brother Ollie, Finley, and father Scott (Image: Becky Rogers)

Thankfully he is responding well to the twice-daily injections and for now, the clot is stabilised.

Becky said: “Finley is now on regiment C in terms of his treatment, from Colchester and Addenbrookes have been great and I can’t thank them enough.

“They did another bone marrow test after a new Hickman line was installed in April and it came back clear, Finley’s in remission now.

“They are still carrying on with treatment, we are about to go into the last frontline treatment which is really intense.

“We should enter maintenance in September roughly depending on his blood levels then that will lead to less treatment.

“Our end date is May 2025, it seems far away but its nice to have a definitive final date.”

Becky’s friend Stacie Brook started a GoFundMe to raise money for Finley and his treatment.

Initially Becky wanted the target set at £100 as she thought £1,000 was too much, however the post has raised more than £6,000 in three weeks.

Becky added: “It’s incredible that people are so wonderful, I honestly can’t believe it’s raised so much it really is overwhelming.”

If you would like to support Finley on his journey by donating visit bit.ly/3yBkO8K.