This incredible youngster found the strength to battle a life-threatening condition by dressing as THE HULK.
Brave Callum Peers, five, wore a special suit straight from the superhero’s wardrobe to take on a lethal strain of childhood cancer neuroblastoma.
The cast held his body in place during weeks of radiotherapy as his parents nervously waited to see if he was strong enough to survive.
Callum’s mum Nicola Cunnings, 31, said: “The cancer was at stage four which was the worst one.
“They said it was up to Callum to fight it and he might not pull through, but if they didn’t think that he had a chance then they wouldn’t have started the treatment.
“He loves superheroes so they gave him a suit like The Hulk which helped to make him all big and strong.”
Callum, from Leigh, Gtr Mancs., was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in June 2013 after Nicola and his dad Alan Peers, 51, noticed he became unwell.
“He started with a high temperature, then went off his food and stopped playing,” said Nicola, who is Callum’s full-time carer.
“He had been fine but then he complained of being tired all the time and that’s when it all started.
“He started dragging his left leg when he was walking and he had a lump on the front of his head and two on his neck that turned out to be tumours.”
A series of scans and tests initially meant medics spent six months believing Callum was suffering from arthritis, before a rheumatoid doctor at Alderhey Children’s Hospital said he had cancer.
Nicola said: “It was our worst nightmare. We knew he was poorly but we never imagined it was that bad.
“He couldn’t walk and we had to carry him everywhere, and then the results came back to say it was neuroblastoma.
“He was at stage four which is as bad as it gets. His oncologist said he might not pull through and it was up to him to fight it.”
Callum spent months undergoing chemotherapy three times a week, before having a tumour that covered half of his stomach removed in December 2013.
He then went on to have a stem cell transplant, six weeks of immunotherapy and a stringent course of radiotherapy – all while wearing his Hulk-style suit, which held him in place so the radiotherapy could be targeted to areas.
“It was absolutely awful, but he has coped so very well with all of it. He never complained and not just got on with it.”
Callum, who lives with siblings Jake, 14, Joshua, 13, Bethany, 12, and Cameron, four, was told he was in remission the week before Christmas last year.
And he has now been allowed to start school, after missing his entire first year due to the cancer.
“When we were told the week before Christmas that he was in remission it was amazing,” said Nicola. “We couldn’t have asked for better news, especially when we were told he might not pull through.
“He completely missed reception because of his treatment so he’s only just started school.
“We now have to go back for scans every three months to make sure it hasn’t come back, but fingers crossed he’s now getting back to normal.”
Callum was recently nominated for a Little Star Award by Cancer Research UK for his bravery throughout his fight with cancer.
He was also visited in hospital by England footballer Steven Gerrard, who praised him for his recovery.
