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ONE PAPER ... ALL THE NEWS from Dewsbury, Batley, Ossett, Mirfield, Liversedge, Birstall, Heckmondwike, Cleckheaton & Spen Valley
Read our full edition online!
Friday February 1, 2019
No. 879
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Three charged after £900,000 found in van
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See page 20
COURAGE OF LITTLE WARRIOR By Zoe Shackleton
A BRAVE Birstall youngster is having pioneering treatment in an attempt to beat a rare form of cancer.
Warriors united ... boxing champion Josh Warrington visits Taegan
Eleven-year-old Taegan Pickles had a visit from world champion boxer Josh Warrington on her hospital ward this week and is being supported by Batley Bulldogs head coach Matt Diskin and his players after she was diagnosed with ovarian germ cell cancer in December. Since then, Taegan has had two rounds of chemotherapy and has had her left ovary and fallopian tube removed, as well as a large tumour, which doctors say was the size of a tennis ball. Mum Kelly Lister said: “Taegan is doing a trial-based chemotherapy because of how rare her tumour is at her age. “The chemotherapy is what they would usually do for adults, because this cancer is a lot more common in adults. “We know it works because it’s
‘It’s fine, Mum’, says 11-year-old Taegan as she fights rare cancer been ongoing for two years. Doctors wanted to see if Taegan would do it at her age. We opted to let them do that and the results so far have been amazing. “Taegan’s tumour cell count results have gone from 6,000 down to 78 with just two rounds of the chemotherapy.” Taegan, who attends Windmill C of E Junior School in Batley, is now on the third of six rounds of chemotherapy, which should end on March 4. Back on December 4, she was diagnosed with the rare form of cancer – which affects only 43 children in the UK – after having stomach pains. Kelly took her to Dewsbury Hospital, thinking it was appendicitis. But after having blood tests, Taegan was sent to Pinderfields for an ultrasound scan before going to Leeds
General Infirmary to be told that the pain was caused by a cancerous tumour. Two days later, Taegan was being operated on but the cancer had also spread to her lungs. She has been having treatment ever since. Said Kelly: “Taegan’s been amazing. She’s so strong and she carries me through it. There are times when you can’t hold back the tears and she’ll say, ‘mum... it’s fine!’ “Even on bad days we just say ‘it’s a bumpy road, we’ll be fine and get through it’ – because there’s no other outcome, we’ve got to get through it.” Taegan, who has two younger brothers, Lennon, aged nine, and Kingsley, four, has been dubbed the ‘Yorkshire Warrior’ by her Continued on Page 4
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