"I Never Expected My 3-Year-Old's 'Common Cold' to Lead to a Shocking 9cm Lump Diagnosis"

WHEN tot Primrose, developed a high temperature and rashes last October, mum Charley Hocking knew something was amiss.

But, after visiting the , she was reassured that her three-year-old, who had also developed mouth ulcers was suffering from hand, foot and mouth disease.

Primrose, 3, first suffered a high temperature and rashes in October 2025 Credit: Collect/PA Real Life After visiting the GP Charley was told Primrose had hand, foot and mouth disease Credit: Collect/PA Real Life

Primrose’s symptoms mirrored the common childhood illness, that typically affects under fives.

But by late November, her condition failed to improve and she suddenly stopped urinating.

Rushing her back to the GP, Charley, 37, was told to take Primrose to hospital.

Here, doctors discovered the devastating true cause of her illness – a lump in her abdomen and an area of abnormal tissue, known as a lesion.

In November, doctors discovered a lump in Primrose’s abdomen Credit: Collect/PA Real Life They also discovered an area of abnormal tissue, known as a lesion Credit: Collect/PA Real Life

Scans confirmed Primrose had hepatoblastoma, a rare childhood liver cancer, that strikes just 10 to 15 children in the UK every year.

She started chemotherapy days before and now has had the tumour and 40 per cent of her liver removed.

Recalling Primrose’s traumatic ordeal, mum-of-two Charley, from East Sussex, said: “It was the worst moment of my life, them telling me she had cancer.

“Even though doctors said she’s got a good prognosis, you can’t help but think the worst when you hear the word cancer and it completely broke me.

“Now, because of her weakened immune system, I’m constantly thinking, ‘Is that clean? Does that need to be cleaned?’

“I’ve got that constant worry in my head that she’s going to get ill.

“If we go out, it’s in the countryside and we don’t go to parks with other kids in them.

“She’s always in the buggy – she struggles to walk very far because her legs can be so weak.”

Primrose received her diagnosis at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton and Hove, after doctors examined her, pressing firmly on her abdomen and discovered a lump.

At the time, doctors suggested she may have an inflamed liver, but blood test results came back as “abnormal” and an ultrasound revealed a lesion which could be cancerous.

Primrose remained in hospital under observation while specialists from the hospital, and The Royal Marsden and King’s College Hospital, met to discuss the case.

Charley said they believed her blood results were “pointing towards a rare type of cancer”, after an MRI scan revealed Primrose had a lesion measuring 7.4cm x 6.4cm x 8.5cm.

Then, on December 19, Charley received the life-changing phone call, informing her that Primrose had hepatoblastoma.

An MRI scan revealed Primrose had a lesion measuring 7.4cm x 6.4cm x 8.5cm Credit: Collect/PA Real Life

Charley, who runs a cleaning , said: “It was strangely relieving because we finally found out what it was and we could go forward with the treatment plan.”

Hepatoblastoma, which forms in the tissues of the liver, is often treated by chemotherapy first to shrink the tumour and prevent it spreading.

Surgery follows to remove it.

The exact cause of hepatoblastoma is unknown, but children are at a higher risk if they were born prematurely, have hemihypertrophy — when one side of the body grows faster than the other — or have Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, known as an overgrowth syndrome.

Symptoms depend on the size of the tumor and can include a swollen abdomen, abdominal pain, jaundice skin, fever, nausea and vomiting.

On December 22, Primrose had her first round of chemotherapy over three days at The Royal Marsden hospital in London and luckily did not experience any severe side effects, meaning she could be home for Christmas Day.

Since then, Primrose has had chemotherapy once every 13 days, but, it has caused her to lose her appetite and feel nauseous and tired.

Charley said the particular type of chemotherapy she is receiving carries a risk of damaging her hearing, kidneys and heart lining, and Primrose is one of the only children in the UK to try a new trial drug focused on reducing hearing loss.

She had the treatment on March 24, with her last hearing test on February 5 coming back “perfect”, but she is awaiting more tests.

At the end of March, after five rounds of chemotherapy, an MRI revealed the tumour had shrunk to 3.7cm x 3.5cm x 6cm, leaving Charley feeling “so relieved and over the moon”.

In April, she then had surgery to remove 40 per cent of her liver, which managed to remove all of the tumour.

Charley added: “It all went to plan and the surgeons were extremely happy with how the operation went.

Primrose has had chemotherapy once every 13 days Credit: Collect/PA Real Life

“The tumour was central and covered an area of major vessels, but they managed to peel it all away.”

Primrose then spent two days in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit and the High Dependency Unit, but she is now “continuing recovery” on a ward which specialises in liver patients.

Primrose’s liver is expected to regenerate in just three weeks and she will go on to have three more rounds of chemotherapy to remove any additional cancer cells.

Reflecting on the ordeal, Charley said: “I am deeply proud of how far we’ve come and how incredibly strong my children are.

“We’ve exciting things to come and this has taught me to cherish every moment of life as it is so precious.

“Challenges only refine and strengthen us and no matter what happens, I can handle it.

“I’d like to thank, from the bottom of my heart, all the teams at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital, The Royal Marsden and the King’s College Hospital for their incredible care of Primrose.”

Charley has also set up a GoFundMe page to help raise to give her daughters “the best holiday ever”, hoping to go somewhere “nice and hot” with the “best water parks and children’s entertainment”.

To date, it has raised more than £2,600.