Family of boy with cancer welcomes new retreat

The parents of a nine-year-old boy who spent over 300 days being treated in hospital for cancer have described a new rural holiday retreat for families similarly affected as a "lifeline".

Raines Retreat is being built in Allerston, near Pickering, and, once completed, will accommodate up to 27 people.

Kirsty, from York, whose son Ben was diagnosed with Burkitts Lymphoma, said the family had spent "countless hours" away from home and the new retreat meant people like them could "make precious memories together, even after the hardest of times".

Amar Naher, from Children with Cancer UK, running the facility, said it would help families escape worries and meet others going through the same things.

Ben was eight years old when he received his diagnosis of Burkitts Lymphoma after he went to hospital with suspected gastroenteritis.

The condition affects white blood cells, and develops when part of the immune system, called B-cells, become abnormal.

Kirsty said that when Ben was diagnosed, the family's "world turned upside down".

"There were times when I couldn't believe it was real life," she said.

Describing her son as "the bravest boy" she knew, Kirsty said being away from home for an extended period of time was "incredibly difficult" for everyone, emotionally and financially.

But she added that meeting other parents in similar situations on the ward and hearing their experiences had made things "a little bit less lonely".

She said that was why she believed the new facility in North Yorkshire would be "a lifeline for families, a place to breathe, connect, and find comfort with others who truly understand, away from the beeping machines and clinical setting".

The retreat is due to be completed in the spring and is expected to include four stand-alone holiday cottages, one being fully wheelchair-friendly.

Meanwhile, according to the Children with Cancer UK charity, a former farmhouse on the site had been redeveloped into two holiday lets.

A spokesperson said the retreat would also include a new "reflection garden", which would offer families a safe space to relax and connect with nature.

According to the charity, access to the retreat would be free and open to all families affected by childhood and young adult cancer, including those currently undergoing treatment, those who had survived childhood cancer and bereaved families.

Meanwhile, Kirsty said Ben was now "doing well and has been in remission for five months".

"He's still learning how to walk again. He's in a wheelchair right now - he does it with a smile on his face," she said.