A brave schoolboy who battled leukaemia and inflammation in his brain has been chosen to launch an awards scheme that recognises the courage of children diagnosed with cancer.

Theo Sloan, five, is on the countdown to Christmas hoping for a new bike but for his parents Debbie and Darren Sloan it will be an emotional moment after the toughest year of their lives. 

In a double blow for the Paisley family, after being diagnosed with leukaemia, Theo was admitted to a paediatric intensive care unit with inflammation in his brain.

Doctors explained the condition, known as posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) was a rare reaction to his chemotherapy treatment and he spent two days in an induced coma before slowly fighting back.

Now, after four blood transfusions and dozens of chemo sessions, Theo is in remission and has received a Cancer Research UK Children & Young People Star Award in recognition of his remarkable courage.

Glasgow Times: Theo in hospitalTheo in hospital (Image: Supplied)

Mum Debbie, 38, said: “Theo is our wee star, our whole family are so proud of him.

“I don’t think we’ve slept properly since he was diagnosed with leukaemia. Right at the start, I was in shock and I could hardly speak. There were so many tears.

"Theo was mostly treated in Glasgow in the Schiehallion Ward, which is named after a Scottish mountain. And that’s exactly it. Cancer felt like a mountain to climb, a long journey with so many ups and downs and a feeling of always being on high alert."

Through the awards, Cancer Research UK hopes to shine a light on some of the challenges faced by children like Theo, which its scientists are working to tackle.

His parents vividly recall that moment on April 19 when they were given the devastating news that their son had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a cancer of the white blood cells.

They were urgently referred to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow and had to watch the brave youngster lose his hair and endure dozens of medical procedures in the months which followed.

Glasgow Times:

Theo was well enough to go home and to wave his big brother Sam off to the primary seven prom, but on May 29, as Theo sat on the sofa at home, he collapsed.

Theo’s dad Darren, 36, said: “He was lying on the couch and he suddenly slumped to the side.

“We tried to wake him but we couldn’t get any response. We were warned that they wouldn’t know until Theo woke up if any permanent neurological damage had been done, which was awful. Specialist neurological doctors were able to confirm that Theo had suffered from PRES, a rare condition marked by headaches and swelling of the brain that usually comes on quickly and can be life-threatening.

“It was brought on by high blood pressure, a rare side effect of his chemotherapy drug. More research is needed to help develop drugs which get rid of the cancer but don’t have such damaging side effects on children like him."

It was a huge relief when Theo started to slowly recover. But it took time.

He needed help from physiotherapists to learn to walk again before tests showed that only 0.0007 per cent of Theo’s blood had leukaemia cells, meaning he was in remission.

Glasgow Times:

Now Theo has started maintenance chemotherapy to help keep the leukaemia at bay, and if all goes to plan, should complete treatment in 2025

The Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow is one of the many centres across the UK taking part in groundbreaking clinical trials coordinated by Cancer Research UK’s children's cancer trials team.

The Cancer Research UK for Children & Young People Star Awards, in partnership with TK Maxx, are open to all children under 18 who live in the UK and have been treated for the disease within the past five years

Visit, cruk.org/starawards.