How a hug revealed a rockmelon size rare cancer on three-year-old

A mother-of-three has revealed how a hug with her youngest revealed a rockmelon-sized tumour of a rare cancer on her kidney.

A mother-of-three has revealed how a hug with her youngest revealed a rockmelon-sized tumour on her kidney.

Rosie White’s daughter, Chloe, was a little pocket rocket and was always trying to keep up with her two older sisters when, suddenly during 2021, she started waking up in the middle of the night in writhing pain.

She was initially thought to have a virus and, briefly, Chloe, almost three, showed signs of recovering.

“You check with your mum friends and they say that their son or daughter had something similar,” Rosie told news.com.au.

“But that parents’ instinct kept telling me something wasn’t right.”

When Chloe started waking up 6, 7, 8 times a night her mum realised something was wrong. Picture: Supplied

Then, after comforting her daughter with a hug, Rosie felt a lump the size of a rockmelon on her daughter’s hip.

Immediately, she took Chloe to the hospital and the family was plunged into a world of hospital visits and tests.

Doctors determined that little Chloe had a Wilm’s tumour, which is a rare form of kidney cancer found in children typically under the age of five.

“Like everyone who’s been in that situation, you don’t you just never think that you’ll be sitting on the chair hearing that kind of news,” Rosie said.

“It just didn’t seem like a reality. It was one of those out of body experiences where you sort of hear the words and it was a bit of a blur that initial conversation.

“It can almost be quite a physical response. I remember my hurt my heart actually hurting.”

It wasn't until Rosie was hugging her daughter she felt a lump just above her hip. Picture: Supplied

She said it was hard not to let her mind go to the darkest of places when you hear the word cancer.

Chloe didn’t quite understand quite what was going on, given her age, but knew she hated going to the hospital and being away from her sisters.

It was in the middle of the Covid pandemic and only one person could be with Chloe at a time due to restrictions, so Rosie and her husband, Chris, split themselves between the hospital, homeschooling their two older children and working.

Initially, Chloe had to undergo five weeks of chemotherapy in order to shrink the tumour so she could have a nine-hour operation to remove it.

But that didn’t work as well as hoped, and Chloe faced another 34 weeks of chemo.

She was devastated, but charity-run Starlight Room in hospital was always a way for Chloe to feel like a kid again to simply laugh and enjoy herself, whether that was painting, riding a bike or chasing a Starlight Captain around.

It wasn't until Rosie was hugging her daughter she felt a lump just above her hip. Picture: Supplied

Doctor's found a rockmelon sized Wilm's tumour on Chloe's kidney. Picture: Supplied

Chloe is just four years old. Picture: Supplied

“I know it sounds almost cliche, but I can’t imagine going to a hospital and not having Starlight there, particularly during Covid when we weren’t allowed to have visitors,” Rosie said.

“For Chloe, when she was at hospital it was very clinical and not always positive, because of all the poking and prodding, and to have something like Starlight there where they can escape that, that’s such an important part of any recovery.”

Rosie revealed when she and Chris tied the knot in 2009, there bonbonnière involved Starlight, handing out pins and donated to the charity.

Chloe's mum Rosie is sharing their story as part of Starlight's Tour de Kids fundraiser. Picture: Supplied.

“It was really quite a surreal experience, then in 2021, standing in the Starlight room and thinking that, we’ve donated to this in the past,” Rosie said.

”We’ve been ongoing supporters, but now we’re on the other end of it.”

Rosie said that the help they have been given by Starlight during Chloe’s treatment has just been a big part of the family healing.

Now, Chloe’s tests are looking positive and she is feeling more like herself, her cheeky smile and energy coming back in bounds.

She’s happy to be spending less time in the hospital and more time with her older sisters at home.

Rosie is sharing her family’s story in support of Starlight’s September Appeal, Tour de Kids.