Boy's sore throat leads to leukaemia diagnosis

Sunshine Coast's boy's sore throat leads to leukaemia diagnosis Wed 5 Aug 2026 at 7:20am In short: A 10-year-old boy presented to a Queensland hospital for a persistent "sore throat" as a precautionary measure, but was undergoing chemotherapy 24 hours later. His treatment plan is expected to take six months, depending on how his body reacts to it. What's next? A blood cancer expert says although infections are a common symptom of leukaemia, most sore throats are not cancer. A Sunshine Coast mother says her 10-year-old son is devastated to be spending his next birthday in hospital after a persistent sore throat led to his leukaemia diagnosis. Naomi Turner, a Bli Bli photographer and mother of four, said in hindsight her son Cooper's drop in energy levels was the first sign something was not right. "He was so quiet," she said. "Normally he would run in, throw his bag in the door, grab a snack and run up to the neighbours and play footy with them all afternoon. "Whereas we'd come home and he'd just sit at the table." Sore throat worsens It started about three weeks ago when Cooper woke up with an "extreme sore throat" and said he did not want to go to school. "For any kid, [that's] quite normal, not out of the blue," Ms Turner said. After a trip to the doctor, he was prescribed antibiotics for a suspected case of tonsillitis. When those did not work, and the pain worsened, his mother took him to hospital and then back again to the doctor the following week. "It was still severe. He wasn't eating … he wasn't even walking," Ms Turner said. After more doctor appointments, Cooper was again seen at Sunshine Coast University Hospital's emergency department on the morning of July 27. By 9am the next day, he was undergoing chemotherapy at the Brisbane Children's Hospital for acute myeloid leukaemia. "He was quite critical," Ms Turner said. She said it was a "complete shock" when doctors delivered the news. "I went blank at first," Ms Turner said through tears. "Then I just began shaking." Head of Mater Research's blood cancer research group, Maher Gandhi, said infections were a common symptom of leukaemia. "Infections can present in many ways, but a sore throat is one of the commonest ways," Professor Gandhi said. "I wouldn't want to cause a lot of undue alarm because most common childhood illnesses, like sore throats, are nothing related to leukaemia at all." Symptoms to watch out for Professor Gandhi said to look out for recurrent sore throats, if the sore throats persisted for a long time, if they were very severe, and particularly if they were related to other symptoms such as low energy. He said children were usually "quite active" and if a child lost interest in a sport or activity they usually enjoyed, or were out of breath easily, it could be an indicator. "Sometimes the child is less interested in things that would normally get them quite excited and that might be friendships, something happening at school, it might be a family activity, and it might be sport or some kind of entertainment that suggests they're just a bit tired and uninterested," Professor Gandhi said. He also said headaches, bruising easily, bleeding gums, fevers, lumps, joint or bone pain, and nose bleeds could be an issue. Six months in hospital Now in hospital, Ms Turner said Cooper was low on energy and spent most of his time in bed or undergoing treatment. His treatment plan is expected to take six months, depending on how his body reacts to it. "It is so hard to watch," Ms Turner said. "Just heartbreaking." Seeking medical advice Although acute myeloid leukaemia is known to occur in children, Professor Gandhi reiterated cancer in general was "uncommon in children". "This kind of cancer occurs because the machinery of the bone marrow isn't working so well," he said. "[It] is more likely to occur in older people. "Most of the symptoms that I've talked about are not due to leukaemia. It's really if the symptoms persist for a long time, then it is worth taking your child to the GP." Ms Turner's advice for other parents was to proactively seek medical advice. "If you feel like something is wrong … fight for it," she said.