Girl's cancer walk to 'give hope' to other children

A 12-year-old girl has said she wants to "give hope" to children living with a brain tumour, as she prepares to take on a charity walk.

Thalia, from Sheffield, was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer two years ago and now plans to walk the Ullswater Way for a charity which has supported her.

She said cancer had given her "determination" and she wanted to go back to doing activities she enjoyed before her diagnosis, such as walking with her family.

"There's not many treatments for this, but I want to give hope and support to kids like me," she said.

Thalia's parents noticed an issue with her co-ordination in March 2023, leading to doctors diagnosing her with a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma tumour.

"At the start of it I was very scared," she said.

"I remember one time where I was left in my hospital room all alone and I was sat there thinking 'what is going on?'."

Her dad Chris Toseland said: "You sort of just retreat into that prospect that 'OK, this is just our daily life'.

"It is very much just in the motion of treatment, looking after Thalia, Thalia was very tired in that time."

Her condition was described as "stable" by Chris, with her having some treatment to help control it.

"It's about, therefore, that we make the most of all the moments because the point is things can change so rapidly as we've learnt over the past two years."

Thalia has been helped by York-based charity Oscar's, which specialises in support for children with brain tumours.

It provides so-called booster boxes, which are filled with gifts to keep their spirits up.

Chris said he felt "incredible pride" at Thalia's efforts to complete the 20-mile Ullswater Way walk.

He said: "She's always been very thoughtful and wanting to bring help to people as much as possible."

As a family, they have been taking part in training walks near their home and in the Peak District.

"It's actually been really, really fun," Thalia said.

"There's been times when we're outside and it's lovely weather and we're just having fun walking."

Phil Martinez, from Oscar's, said it helped families "at the point of greatest need".

"We can be there on the end of a message, on the end of a phone call and give them that guidance and hope," he said.

"I think it's really important for children to know they can help other children.

"Thalia is just leading the way in that respect. She's going through it herself and she wants to make it better for others."

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