Delight for family of Diss High School student Asha Patel, 17, after cancer all clear

A 17-year-old schoolgirl has revealed she is now cancer free in a video for a charity.

Asha Patel was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma – a cancer that affects the lymphatic system in the body – in February after finding a lump on the side of her neck.

Although the cancer spread to areas including her lungs and spleen, the Bressingham teenager was given the all clear towards the end of the summer.

Her father, Jayesh, said: “It is fantastic news. Considering how ill she was, to have a result come back that quickly is amazing. We are very lucky.

“She was meant to have six rounds of chemotherapy, but, after a couple, they found it was working and she had four in the end.”

The Diss High School student had been documenting her journey with videos and pictures.

The footage, which has subsequently been picked up by Cancer Research UK, shows her pulling clumps of her hair out, before cutting and shaving it off in tears.

She said: “It was devastating and deeply emotional losing my hair because it also signified the start of my cancer journey and the unknown challenges that lay ahead.

“I knew there was no going back, and I had a big battle ahead of me. Besides the lump on my neck, this was the first physical sign that I had cancer, which was both scary and emotional.”

Asha, who has been supporting TK Maxx’s Give Up Clothes for Good campaign, in support of Cancer Research UK for Children and Young People throughout September, said she wanted to share her video to support anyone else going through a similar experience.

“Having cancer is a very lonely journey, especially as a teenager, when cancer is probably less talked about and less documented,” she said.

“I wanted to show what it was like to go through treatment and lose your hair, which, for many people, can be devastating.”

In the video, Mr Patel can be seen comforting his daughter and offering to cut her hair for her.

“She was adamant that she wanted to shave her head herself and I felt she just wanted to do that to give herself a bit of control on something she had no control over at the time,” he said.

“People don’t really see what cancer is like and losing your hair is probably the first visual sign that someone is not well.

“For anyone, that can be a very traumatic experience, but for a young teenager like Asha, and to see your daughter go through it, it was just heartbreaking.

“Asha had gone for a wig fitting that day and that was when she decided she wanted to take control.

“To then film it and as a way of offering support is such a brave thing to do and I am so proud of her.”

Since the raw home video went public, the teenager has been inundated with support from family and friends.

Mr Patel said: “During her treatment, she said to me that she was glad that she was the only person in the family to get cancer because she could cope with it, which is an amazing thing for a 16-year-old to say.

“Asha has never complained about anything. She is always so positive and happy and always thinking of ways to help others.

“Even now, cancer has not wiped that gorgeous smile off her face.”

There are around 380 new cancer cases in children and young people under 25 in the east of England NHS region every year.

Patrick Keely, Cancer Research UK spokesman, said: “We are grateful to Asha and her family for helping to shine a light on some of the challenges faced by children that our scientists are working to tackle.

“Cancer is different in children and young people from the types of cancer that affect this age group to the long-term effects of treatment, such as hearing loss and infertility. So, it needs different and dedicated research.

“It’s thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we are beating cancer. Step by step, day by day.

“More than nine in 10 children and young people with cancer who receive cancer drugs on the NHS receive a drug linked to our work. And we are unlocking discoveries about these cancers and translating them into new and less toxic ways to treat them.”

Asha, who found out about her cancer while getting ready for her GCSEs, has now returned to education and is working towards her A-levels at the high school’s sixth form.

Mr Patel said: “We did not know if Asha would get through this, but we held on and stayed strong in the belief that she was in the best place, getting the best possible treatment.

“From a very early age, Asha has faced a lot of unfair things that life threw her way; the biggest one of them all was losing her mum, Caroline, when Asha and her siblings were still so young, but she is amazingly resilient.

“It has been a rollercoaster year, but it is great to get to the other side with good news.”