A COMMUNITY is rallying around to support the family of a toddler who was diagnosed with cancer days before Christmas.

Katie Leslie and her partner Declan Jones, just weeks after welcoming new baby Evie into the world, found out that their two-year-old son Tommy had a cancerous tumour on his liver.

And just last week it was discovered that the Blackburn toddler also has an enlarged heart – further complicating matters as he begins a four-week cycle of chemotherapy before hopefully being ready for surgery.

The family have now not been home since December 13 when they first took Tommy to the Royal Blackburn Hospital with a suspected winter vomiting bug.

Tommy’s grandad, Mel Jones, said: “It has been a very eventful few weeks, Christmas didn’t exist for our family.

“Just before Tommy was diagnosed, we welcomed Evie into the world.

"She has spent the first few weeks of her life living away from her parents as they need to be in the hospital by Tommy’s bedside.

“This is a young family who have had their world turned upside down in a matter of weeks.

“They were transferred to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital once the cancer was found and Katie and Declan have been at his bedside ever since.

“At the moment he is having his chemotherapy which is scheduled for four weeks before hopefully he’ll have surgery on the tumour.

“He’ll then have another round of chemotherapy.”

The family, originally from Shadsworth, have now been on the receiving end of an enormous amount of support from hundreds of friends, neighbours and strangers – all brought together by community group Shad Chefs.

Speaking to the Lancashire Telegraph, founding member of the group Shane Calvert said: “We’ve known Tommy’s grandad for a while and when we found out what had happened we wanted to see if we could help.

“So we put a post out about their situation and ever since people have just come forward wanting to see what they can do to help.

“We are in the process of organising a raffle, and are currently inviting any businesses owners to get in touch if they’d like to donate a prize.

“All of the proceeds will go to Tommy’s family, who are going through a massively hard time at the moment.”

A GoFundMe page has also been set up for the family, so far raising almost £1,000.

When asked what Declan and Katie’s reaction to the support had been like, Mel said: “They’ve been quite overwhelmed.

“Declan was due back at work after the Christmas break this week, but he can’t return at the moment. The whole family is supporting them, but there is only is much we can offer financially.

“Of course the finances come second to Tommy’s welfare – that’s the most important thing – but it has been a massive help all the same.

If you would like to follow Tommy’s journey and help Shad Chefs with the raffle, either search fro the group on Facebook or call Shane on 07701 070766.

To donate and support the family through their GoFundMe page, visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/darren-roberts-4