Childhood Cancer Awareness Month: Hayleigh's Story

On the 25th of August 2025, the day after her 7th birthday, our world changed completely.

Hayleigh was diagnosed with bilateral Wilms tumour after being rushed by ambulance from UHL when her blood pressure became critical. It was one of the scariest times we have ever faced as a family.

Hayleigh has a twin sister, Hannah, and an older brother, Jack. Being separated from them was incredibly hard, especially for them, but somehow, together, we got through those first terrifying days.

Hayleigh spent 11 nights in Crumlin and had her first round of chemotherapy before we could come home. From then on, our lives became weekly trips to Dublin which was a two-hour journey each way from our home in Newport, Co. Tipperary. Six weeks of chemo, an MRI, another six weeks of chemo, more scans, and then preparation for surgery.

Hayleigh started losing her hair after her fifth round of chemo. Rather than letting it get her down, she decided she wanted to shave it off. So we made it fun. We coloured her hair, she shaved her dad’s hair, and then he shaved hers.

We tried to make things as fun as we could. Hayleigh would wear a cape while getting chemo, transforming into a superhero whose mission was to blast those cancer cells away. The cape was a gift and tip from my best friend Lisa, who had done something similar during her own breast cancer journey.

Hayleigh had more good days than bad, but even on the days she felt sick or couldn’t eat, she still wanted to be doing things and making memories.

On the 5th of December — the same night as the Toy Show — Hayleigh had her right kidney removed. Everyone made such a fuss, and it was so beautiful to see how much thought and care went into keeping the magic of childhood alive during such a difficult time.

We were told after surgery that Hayleigh was stage 1 and, incredibly, the doctors had managed to save her left kidney, despite the tumour growing there.

She then faced into another 27-week cycle of chemotherapy. Thankfully, this time we could get her single chemo treatment in Limerick, meaning we only had to travel to Dublin every three weeks instead of every week.

There were hospital stays along the way because of neutropenia, but thankfully she was always home again after a couple of days.

And through it all, Hayleigh remained Hayleigh.

She went into school whenever she felt well enough because she was determined to have fun with her friends. She loved school in Crumlin and actually hated the holidays because she missed her teachers, Vinny and Aisling! She even recorded a podcast with Aisling and became convinced she was famous.

She loved Stephanie, her psychologist, and Rebecca, her dentist, who helped her through mouth ulcers with light therapy. She loved the nurses and doctors on Johns Ward - people who are truly gifted in the way they care for children.

She loved when family came to Dublin for chemo and we were so blessed to have Kevin’s sister living near the hospital, who kept us supplied with fresh fruit and vegetables.

We were incredibly lucky to have so much support from the charities, volunteers and organisations who help families through childhood cancer. From family camps and hotel stays to little things that made the hard days easier, every bit of support helped us feel less alone and gave us opportunities to step away from cancer for a while and simply be a family.

Hayleigh finished treatment at the end of June 2026.

She got the all-clear in July.

And in August, surrounded by her family, she finally rang that bell.

One crazy year. A year full of fear, laughter, tears, strength, exhaustion, love and so many people who carried us when we needed it most.

Now Hayleigh is looking forward to being back in school fully, getting back to swimming once Freddy is out, and finally going on a holiday.

And when we asked Hayleigh what advice she would give another child going through cancer, her answer was simple:

“Try not to worry and just have fun.”