An Aberdeenshire mother yesterday spoke of her heartbreak after her teenage daughter was diagnosed with the same terminal illness that killed her two-year-old brother.
Brave Hanna Whyte, 18, was given just weeks to live after receiving a life-shattering diagnosis less than two months ago.
She has choroid plexus carcinoma an aggressive cancer that presents itself as a rapidly spreading brain tumour.
It previously claimed the life of 23-month-old Corrie and now Hanna’s sister Samantha, 12, will also have to go through tests to see if she could be affected.
Mum Angela, of Fettercairn, near Laurencekirk, said: “It’s complicated, we’re just taking it day-to-day and making sure Hanna is comfortable.
“Anything she needs to eat or drink she gets, from wherever she wants us to get it from.”
A previous operation to remove one of Hanna’s tumours was successful but a second one could not be treated.
Mrs Whyte added: “We were quite surprised in how good that surgery went but she does have another one in the front of her head that the doctors couldn’t go near. She could have gone through chemotherapy but her chest infection came back and she developed clots in her leg so it would have been difficult.
“Although it could have given her a bit more time, it would have been painful for her and the result would have been the same.
“Eventually we agreed with the doctors that it would just be better to get her home and make her more comfortable.”
Now the easiest of tasks for a healthy person are difficult for Hanna, who needs morphine, oxygen and a range of other treatments and drugs.
Mrs Whyte added: “The way it has spread in Hanna is unique so they have had to get experts from around the country to help.
“Tumours can quite normally be safely removed but it has spread in her hips and the base of her spine as well.”
Hanna’s community in Fettercairn has rallied in support of her and the local Howe O’ The Mearns Pipe Band is preparing a fundraiser to help the family.
Davie Duncan, friend of the Whyte’s and founder of the band, said: “We’re a very tight-knit, family-oriented community and we were hit hard by Hanna’s diagnosis.”