A Ross-shire family is sharing their experience of travelling hundreds of miles for treatment after their son Daniel was diagnosed with cancer.
The Gallacher family, from Culbokie on the Black Isle, hopes to raise vital awareness of childhood cancer and its hidden costs during September’s Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
Daniel, aged nine, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in December 2016. Parents Alison and Kevin faced a 360 mile round trip to get their son to hospital in Glasgow following the shock diagnosis.
Alison said: “We told Daniel that he had cancer. The first thing he asked was ‘Am I going to die?’. It was tough, but we talked to him about how the chemotherapy was going to take the cancer cells away and make him better.
“We were transferred to Glasgow. At first we were in hospital in Glasgow for about six months so Kevin was travelling up and down regularly, at least once a week. It can take about four hours there and another four hours back and uses up a tank of diesel which costs £85 a time.”
During Daniel’s cancer treatment in Glasgow, the family were able to stay at one of CLIC Sargent’s Homes from Home for free.
Daniel has moved on to regular, less intensive chemotherapy, which is mainly done at the family’s local hospital in Inverness, a 30-mile round-trip from home. They make this journey at least once a week.
Alison said: “The Home from Home was a lifeline for us. My husband was travelling up and down to home to be with us, as well as continue with work and make sure that our other son Conor was okay.
“The boys called the CLIC Sargent Home from Home ‘the hotel’ – they thought it was amazing. Without the Home from Home I’m not sure what we’d have done.”
As well as travel, families’ face other added costs when a child is diagnosed with cancer, spending an average of £600 a month extra, on top of everyday expenses and bills. The biggest expenses include travel, food, hospital car parking, energy bills and car-related costs.
Last year in Inverness, CLIC Sargent supported 21 families, giving out 19 financial grants worth £4,500, helping families to cope with the costs of cancer.
