Mother recalls the heartbreaking moment her two-year-old son asked if he 'could put his hair back on' when it began falling out due to treatment for a rare tissue cancer

• Jade Faulkner's son, of Staffordshire, has been diagnosed  with a rare cancer
• Condition is called rhabdomyosarcoma and shows up in the body's soft tissues
• Treatment has resulted in hair loss for the little boy, Todd, and he's asked his mother if he 'could put his locks back on'

A distraught mother has revealed how she broke down in tears when her toddler son asked if he could 'put his hair back on' after it started to fall out during cancer treatment.

Jade Faulkner, 25, and her partner Sam Cook, 26, both from Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, first realised something was wrong when their two-year-old son Todd developed a lump under his chin.

At first doctors thought it was swollen lymph nodes - glands found in the neck - but when antibiotics didn't help, they referred the youngster to hospital to undergo further tests.

Then, last month, medics pulled Todd's parents aside and told them the devastating news that he had a rare type of cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma that shows up in the body's soft tissues.

Despite the gruelling treatment, Jade said Todd, who turns three in June, has been 'so good' at dealing with it - but has asked if his hair can be 'put back on' as the medicine he's taking is making it fall out. 

Jade said: 'I've been trying so hard to stay level-headed and make sure we get to all his appointments and do all the research, but he's losing his hair now and that's really hard.

'When I was washing his hair it was all coming out in the bath. He's always had lovely thick hair so that was horrible. My other half shaved his hair too so they can look the same but Todd said he wants to put his hair back on.

'I just had to explain that it's the medicine that's making it fall out but it will come back when he is better. It was heartbreaking.'

Recalling the moment she spotted something was wrong, Jade said: 'We first noticed the lump in January. It was just under his chin. Todd was fine in himself but I rang 111 and they said to get him to the doctors to get checked out.

'It was a Sunday so we took him the next day and they said it's probably a swollen lymph node. We took him back the week after and the week after that as it wasn't going away; it was just getting bigger.

'Finally they sent us to the hospital where he was given antibiotics, but they didn't touch it so we were referred to the oncology department at Birmingham Children's Hospital.

'At that point I still didn't think it was anything serious but I knew in my gut it wasn't right. 

What is rhabdomyosarcoma? 

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a rare type of soft tissue sarcoma. 

Sarcomas are rare types of cancer that develop in the supporting or connective tissues of the body.

Soft tissue sarcomas can develop in muscle, fat, blood vessels, or any of the other tissues that support, surround and protect the organs of the body.

About 3,300 new cases are diagnosed each year in the UK.

Rhabdomyosarcomas grow in the active muscles of the body.

The most common places for them to be found are the head, neck, bladder, vagina, arms, legs and trunk of the body.

It is usually treated with chemotherapy, along with surgery or radiotherapy - but it's unknown what causes it.

Most rhabdomyosarcomas are diagnosed after a person develops symptoms. These may include:

• a lump that can be seen or felt - it may or may not be painful
• bleeding from the nose, vagina, rectum or throat, if the tumour is in these areas
• tingling, numbness, pain and loss of movement, if the tumour presses on nerves in the area

Source: Macmillan Cancer Support

'I didn't even think of cancer to start with. It was only when someone I work with asked if I was worried it might be cancer that I started to panic.'

Jade, a chef, said she 'knew it was bad news' when doctors took her away from Todd and asked to have a chat with her and Sam.

She recalled: 'That's when I knew it was bad. Todd had a biopsy and on April 28 he was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare type of cancer that forms in soft tissue and mainly affects children. 

'The doctor said it's like lightning, it just strikes. I just don't understand why our little Todd, who doesn't deserve this, has to go through it.'

Jade said she has tried to be honest with her little boy, but her heart breaks when he gets upset.

The mother explained: 'Sometimes he's fine and then other times he doesn't want the doctors or nurses to touch him.

'He got put to sleep for an MRI and he didn't know what was going on, but when they tried to put the central line in he got upset. 

'He's very brave and he knows it's to get his lump better but it does take its toll sometimes. It started to affect his speech a bit and when he was in the hospital we noticed he was snoring really badly, almost like he was fighting for breath.'

Jade said she has been trying very hard to stay positive but she broke down when the toddler started to lose his hair. 

Todd is currently at home with his family but is awaiting chemotherapy treatment.

Jade said: 'We're at home now but he's got to have chemotherapy and he might need radiotherapy further down the line. He's also got to have a full body MRI scan to see if the cancer's spread.

'The chemotherapy destroys the immune system as well as the cancer cells so he is classed as vulnerable with the virus going round. Every three weeks we have to go in and stay for a couple of nights. 

'While we're in hospital only one person can stay with Todd, which means we've been having video and phone calls with Sam and the doctors. It's hard for me to sit there with Todd and deal with it on my own.'

Jade said brave Todd never fails to 'brighten her day', adding: 'He's been so good despite everything. He's very on-the-go and very chatty, just like any boy his age. He brightens my day and he is my favourite person in the world.'

Friends of the family have set up a fundraising page to help them through this difficult time.