'Doctor said our three-year-old toddler's rash was nothing to worry about - then he got his diagnosis'

'Doctor said our three-year-old toddler's rash was nothing to worry about - then he got his diagnosis' Young Oscar Martin was diagnosed with a childhood cancer after his mum brought him to a GP twice with an increasingly concerning blotchy rash that started on his ear A toddler who doctors believed was suffering from a straightforward rash was actually just days away from dying of a devastating childhood cancer, his dad has said. Oscar Martin, now seven, was taken to the GP by his parents, James, 38, and Philippa, in May 2022 after he developed a "red and blotchy" rash on his ear. James, a content creator and delivery driver living in Derbyshire, said the the couple grew concerned when the three-year-old's rash was accompanied by a spike in temperature. Medics confirmed the tot's ear was inflamed, and said it appeared he may be fighting an infection, but, in reality, his body was fighting acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Philippa said her son was prescribed antibiotics and sent home following their initial visit, but noticed a "pinprick purple rash" within 24 hours of their return on Oscar's eyes. She said the rash would not fade when pressed on - a concerning sign the NHS states warrants a call to 999 - and that another had developed on his chest. Philippa said she rushed back to the GP, who referred Oscar to a paediatrician at Chesterfield Hospital but told her not to be "overly worried''. Once admitted, Oscar had blood tests and doctors revealed they suspected the three-year-old had leukaemia, and Philippa said it felt like her " world had ended''. Within hours, the blood cancer diagnosis was confirmed on June 1 2022 at Sheffield Children's Hospital. James said Oscar underwent two years of "intense'' cancer treatment until July 2024, leading to his son going into remission. On the moment he found out about his son's diagnosis, James said: "I remember going outside not long after ringing my work to tell them the news. And I could feel my heartbeat in my head. I felt like I was almost separated from my body... and I was just in another world. It was so surreal." Oscar, the youngest of four children - Alex, 21, Finlay, 18, and Imogen, 12 - was described by his dad as a bouncing "boy who loved life" and enjoyed getting his hands dirty'' in the family's allotment garden. But James remembered Oscar kept getting ill "week after week'' in the first few months of 2022 with what doctors thought at the time were viral and ear infections. James said: "There were just lots of little things that weren't adding up at the time.'' Things escalated when Oscar developed a rash and a temperature in May, so Philippa took him to the GP. But then she noticed a rash on his eyelids and chest, so she took him back to a GP and he was referred to a paediatrician at Chesterfield Hospital. Philippa called James, who met her and Oscar at hospital, and the medical team cannulated their son and took blood samples. The next morning, a team of four doctors called James and Philippa into a room, while a play worker stayed with Oscar. Philippa said: "As we entered the room, I noticed a box of tissues on the table, and my heart sank. "The doctor informed us that our son had suspected leukaemia; it felt like my world had ended. From that moment, everything became serious.'' Oscar was blue-lighted to Sheffield Children's Hospital and, by the end of that day, James said his son's diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia was confirmed and their lives "changed forever''. Within a week, James said Oscar had his first procedure to have a port fitted that would inject high dose chemo'' into his body and James will always remember that day as his toughest point''. James said Oscar went from being a little boy who "seemed fit and well'' to entering the operating theatre and coming out a different child''. "He was a different colour,'' James said. "It was like his soul was stripped out of his body. He didn't want to talk to me and Philippa. He couldn't really do anything. He just wasn't our little boy and he was in a lot of pain... I was watching a child struggling and I just wanted to swap positions with him because it was honestly so hard and so horrible.'' Over the course of the next two years, James said Oscar underwent "hundreds and hundreds'' of doses of chemotherapy, including an early type of the drug that his son had an allergic reaction to. James said: "He ballooned up... it was scary having to get the ambulance to our house.'' Alongside this, Philippa said Oscar picked up "several serious infections'' throughout his two years of treatment, which led to hospital stays lasting several days or weeks''. She said: "Seeing my child needing oxygen support, wired to drips, unable to stay awake and shaking with high temperatures was very difficult as a parent.'' Philippa said Oscar started primary school while still undergoing treatment which was a very scary time' for her and James, but he was "mostly absent'' due to the risk of catching illnesses from others. Despite these absences, Oscar has been able to make friends and keep up academically with others. Oscar completed his treatment on July 7 2024, and rang the bell for the end of cancer treatment that same month, but James said his son still experiences regular "night terrors'' "and anxiety attacks''. James said: "In an ideal world, what seven-year-old is suffering with anxiety?" Throughout it all, James said "gardening together'' with Oscar has helped them both, physically and mentally. The dad added: "The garden became our escape. It gave us somewhere to breathe, somewhere to focus on something positive and somewhere to make memories together when life felt very uncertain.'' James shares Oscar's story via Instagram, where he said he hopes to "try and help'' as many people as possible who might be struggling after a cancer diagnosis. James said: "Sometimes it's good to speak to somebody who's actually done it. So when somebody is really struggling and going through hell, we've been there. I've had so many messages in the last few years... so it's nice to be able to pass on that advice.'' For James, it is all about trying to turn a "negative into a positive'' by giving others hope that there is life after cancer. For more information about The Children and Young People's Cancer Association, visit their website here. You can follow James and Oscar on Instagram here.