Tom was complaining of ‘growing pains’. Then came a devastating discovery

Driving to hospital with her seven-year-old son in the car, Mel Wyse was overcome with a feeling of “impending doom”.

“That gut feeling that just doesn’t sit well in your stomach,” she told 7NEWS.com.au.

It was December 23, 2022 and Wyse’s husband had just spotted a lump on their son, Tom while at a Sydney park.

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It appeared just days after Tom visited the GP for a physical after complaining of growing pains, but nothing else seemed out of the ordinary.

“He was having growing pains at night and they were gone during the day,” Wyse said.

“There was nothing unusual about our days. He certainly had as much energy as he always had, running around with his friends, going to school.”

Wyse said they spotted the lump, “went to the hospital that night and didn’t come home”.

One of Tom’s cousins had recently undergone chemotherapy for a brain tumour, giving Wyse a sense of “ridiculous hope” that the family could not be hit by cancer twice.

On Christmas Day they were given the news no parent ever wants to hear, it was believed to be a tumour.

Tom was biopsied on December 26 and doctors confirmed it was Metastatic Genitourinary Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of soft tissue cancer. He began treatment the following day.

“I don’t know that we had the time to process it and come to terms with it in that time,” Wyse said.

“It didn’t sink in. It was just a matter of getting through the days.”

Not only was it “really traumatic” for Tom, but also his little brother, as traditional Christmas plans turned into hospital trips.

“It was stretching ourselves to try and make Christmas as enjoyable for them as possible, as well as deal with the situation at hand,” Wyse said.

“I don’t really think you get a lot of time in those first few days to sort of process, it’s more of a shock and putting one foot in front of the other.”

Fighting through

Almost one year since his diagnosis, eight-year-old Tom is 43 weeks into his 54-week treatment protocol.

“He had a really traumatic start, especially given the pain he had at night,” Wyse said.

Tom soon discovered he had a strong nauseous reaction to chemotherapy, an additional struggle on top of the standard chemotherapy side effects.

It has taken its toll on the eight-year-old, but he’s a fighter, Wyse said.

“Outside of hospital, he’s a really friendly, warm, loving child, very affectionate,” she said.

“He places a huge priority on his friends and family … the priority is the socialisation side of things and then the hospital has been really difficult for him.”

Once he enters through the hospital doors, Tom enters “tough mode”.

“He’s not his usual self, he’s a little bit shut down,” Wyse said.

“I think basically when we get in the car to come into hospital, his anxiety starts kicking in.

“They call him a firecracker in the hospital.”

Wyse said the hospital’s Starlight program, which offers a medical-free haven for sick children and their families to take a break from procedures and play, has been an “amazing” help to Tom along the way.

“Tom likes to be around people and friends but he really shuts down with the medical staff coming in,” she said.

“Having Starlight here is like having a home away from home.

“Without the distraction the Starlight program provides, I would imagine hospital life for Tom would feel relentless and the trauma of his hospital stays overwhelming.

“We have made some beautiful family memories with and through the Starlight program and we couldn’t be more grateful.”

Tom’s family are sharing their story in support of Starlight’s Super Swim Challenge, which kicks off in February and aims to raise $7 million to help brighten the lives of 180,000 sick kids. Register here.