Gyles Brandreth has spoken about the moment his young grandson Kitt was diagnosed with a rare childhood cancer, revealing that the family’s concerns were not initially acted upon by doctors
TV’s Gyles Brandreth has spoken about the frightening moment his young grandson was diagnosed with cancer, revealing that doctors initially dismissed the family’s concerns.
The broadcaster’s grandson Kitt was just 15 months old when he was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of soft tissue cancer, in April 2017.
His parents, Gyles’ daughter Saethryd and her husband Mark, first noticed a pea-sized lump near his stomach while changing his nappy. However, their initial concerns were reportedly brushed aside, with a GP suggesting it was likely to be a cyst or hernia.
Speaking to Lorraine Kelly on the Experience Is Everything with Saga podcast, Gyles recalled how his daughter refused to ignore her instincts and eventually took Kitt to A&E, where he received further attention.
The This Morning star, 78, said: “And there’s the usual anxiety at the doctors where the first GP dismisses it.
“Fortunately, our daughter persists in anxiety and eventually does go against the rules and goes to A&E where they do take him more seriously and the good news is that eventually he ends up at Great Ormond Street and it is a story which for our family has a happy outcome.”
Gyles, who shares his family with wife Michèle, admitted the diagnosis was an incredibly difficult time for everyone, but stressed that the experience was primarily his daughter’s and son-in-law’s to navigate.
“It was the first time I was confronted by a challenge but the challenge was my daughter’s challenge and our son-in-law’s challenge,” he explained.
“It wasn’t our story. It was their story. We were impacted on it, but all we could do was help.”
Kitt spent around a year in hospital, with his parents taking turns to stay overnight by his bedside. Gyles said his wife often took on the night shifts and admitted the experience put the family under considerable strain.
Reflecting on how they managed to get through it, he said: “So how did we cope? By simply I think staying positive, staying there when required but out of the way when not required. And I think I hope making it about them and not about us.”
The former Countdown star also described how difficult it was visiting the children’s wards and seeing other young patients undergoing treatment.
“You had to get used to going into the hospital, he was in two hospitals, and not bursting into tears seeing all these little children with no hair and all of them so positive,” he said.
Kitt was treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital, where he underwent chemotherapy, lost his hair and needed several blood and platelet transfusions. He also developed a bacterial infection which affected his heart and liver.
There has, however, been a positive update. Gyles confirmed that Kitt has received his five-year all-clear, although he continues to attend regular check-ups.
Speaking about the diagnosis previously, Gyles said it had come as a shock because cancer was something his family had associated with older adults.
He said: “Kitt’s diagnosis was a shock to the system. We think of cancer as something that happens to unlucky middle-aged people.
“You think of breast cancer or prostate cancer and older people, but you don’t think of kids – well, we didn’t. I think we didn’t realise what a long journey it was going to be.”
He added that hearing Kitt would be treated at Great Ormond Street had given the family reassurance, thanks to the hospital’s reputation and specialist care.
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