AN AMAZING student who battled cancer in primary school is well on his way to raising £10,000 for the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital where he was treated.
Ben Lord, 14, is in Year 9 at Haslingden High School, but it was in Year 5 at Helmshore Primary School when his mother Sarah noticed a lump on his neck.
He diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and the gland was removed at the Royal Blackburn Hospital.
He was transferred to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital where an x-ray revealed the cancer had not spread so he did not need chemotherapy.
However he had to attend the hospital daily for four weeks and was then put on four monthly check-ups, then six monthly and now he just has to attend once a year.
Ben, from Helmshore, said: “In 2017 I will get the all clear and then I will not have to go for any more check-ups. By then, I want to have raised £10,000 for the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
“I am raising the money to say thank you to them. The staff were really nice.
“I have already raised £8,000 and, along with fellow student Sam Dawson, I held a collection in Tesco in Haslingden on the snow day. Even though it was snowing it was quite busy and people were asking why I was raising the money and donating.”
Ben holds an annual ‘Benji’s Big Bash Party’ in August at Haslingden Cricket Club, which usually raises £2,000 for the cause. Another party will be held this summer.
Ben lives with his parents Andrew and Sarah, older brother Oliver, 17, and 11-year-old sister Isabelle.
When his grandparents Keith and Glenda Payne celebrated their wedding anniversary they asked for donations to the hospital instead of presents.
Ben said: “Since I finished my hospital treatment I have been raising money and by last July the total was £6,000, now it is over £8,000 and I hope to get to £10,000 by next year.”
Last year his efforts were rewarded at Haslingden High School when he was presented with a Citizen of the Year Award. The prize he was given – an iPad Nano, was auctioned off at his party.