Hats off!

INSPIRATIONAL... Eva Clayton, pictured with her mum Jill Clayton, suffers from a form on kidney cancer known as Wilms' tumour and is undergoing treatment.

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A BRAVE eight-year-old girl is smiling once again after her life was turned upside down by a cancer diagnosis - all thanks to a kind gesture by her school friends.

Eva Clayton’s friends at St Joseph’s RC Primary School were determined to support their classmate after the youngster was told she had a Wilms’ tumour on her right kidney in March.

Over the past eight weeks, the Year Three pupil has faced gruelling chemotherapy, losing her hair and spent numerous hours in hospital while she battles the disease.

To support Eva, from Moorside, the school organised a “Wear a Funny Hat Day” and aimed to raise as much money as possible for charities helping Eva and her family.

Eva’s mum Jill said: “When I heard that the children, parents and staff at the school wanted to do something to support Eva, I was so pleased.

“The school have been great and having a crazy hat day helped Eva feel normal again and enjoy herself.”

Eva first began experiencing symptoms in February, complaining of feeling tired or poorly and having stomach pains.

However, it became apparent that Eva was suffering something very serious after she was sick at school on March 18 and her parents, Jill and Anthony, took her to a GP.

Her mum Jill said: “At first it seemed like a virus but when she began to be sick, we knew something wasn’t right.

“The GP did a full examination and instantly spotted that Eva’s symptoms could be something more serious.

“We went to the Royal Oldham Hospital for an emergency ultrasound which confirmed what the GP had suspected - that it was a 15.5cm tumour on her right kidney.

“When we found out it was cancer, we were devastated, it’s every parent’s worst nightmare.

“You don’t think it will happen to you. We started to think 'why us? Why Eva?' but we firmly believe that these things only happen to people who are strong enough to deal with it.”

Eva, who was transferred to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, is now preparing for an operation on Thursday to remove the tumour and her right kidney, which has reduced in function to between 10 and 20 per cent.

Jill said: “At the moment we are in limbo as we won’t know what stage the tumour is at until after the operation.

“Hopefully it will be a successful operation but at the moment we are taking everything one day at a time.”

Despite only being eight years old, Eva has coped well with the shocking news with the kind-hearted young girl even deciding to have her head shaved and donated her hair to the Little Princess Trust, which makes real hair wigs for children who have lost their hair during cancer treatment.

Jill, who also donated her hair to the charity to support Eva, said: “Eva has always had long hair so she was very upset when it began to fall out.

“As she has had no control over what has happened to her, she wanted to make the decision to shave her head herself and donate her hair to charity to help others.

“Eva has been amazing throughout. She is very brave and is a strong-willed girl.

“We have been very open with her and her brother Bradley (11) about her diagnosis and when they have asked questions, we have answered them honestly.

“Telling her that she has cancer put my stomach in knots, but she knows that she is getting all the treatment she needs.”

The family are now hoping that Eva’s story will raise awareness and encourage people, including doctors, to learn more about the symptoms.

Jill said: “Parents know their own children - they know when something is seriously wrong with a child and if they suspect something they should make an appointment.

“We are so grateful that we took her to the doctor and our GP spotted Eva’s symptoms.”

Jill added that the family were also keen to thank the Royal Oldham Hospital, Royal Manchester’s Children’s Hospital and Macmillan Cancer Nurses, who have supported the family since Eva’s diagnosis.

“The school, our friends and the Ukrainian communities in Oldham and Manchester, which we are part of, have all been amazing," add Jill.