AN East Lancashire girl has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer -just three days after her third birthday.

And Millie O'Shea's mum Susan, of Valley View, Shawforth, Rossendale, said she was alerted to the disease when she was woke up in the middle of the night with the urge to get her daughter checked out by a doctor.

Millie was diagnosed as having a Wilm's tumour, a form of kidney cancer, in August after Susan, 44, found a lump on her stomach.

The cancer only affects about 70 children a year in the UK and is caused by cells which help to develop kidneys not disappearing at birth as they should.

The youngster is now undergoing chemotherapy to shrink the tumour.

Then next month, she will have an operation to remove the infected kidney and possibly part of her lung.

Susan said: "I woke up in the middle of the night and something told me to check Millie's stomach.

"She is going to loose a kidney and there are traces of cancer in her lungs.

"How far it has gone we don't know. We won't find out until they take the tumour out and do a biopsy. Normally these cells disappears but they haven't with Millie.

"Every day is difficult, we don't know what the next will bring."

Millie was the only one of Susan and husband Garry's four children to be born without complications.

Their other children all needed special care after Carrie 22, stopped breathing when her when her umbilical chord started strangling her in the womb; Jack, six, had to be delivered when he stopped growing and four-year-old Laura was premature.

Susan added: "Everything went fine. She has never been ill and she has to get better because I could not cope if something happened to her."

Garry's cousin Caroline Westerman, owner of Caroline's Diner, St James' Square, Bacup, has set up a campaign to raise money to help pay for the family's trips to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.

Customers have already raised £300. Caroline is going to auction presents from her 40th birthday in October to raise money and is also organising a number of charity events.

She said: "She is a little fighter and has always been since she was born. I am just trying to raise as much money as I can to help. It is early days but the response has been brilliant."

Garry, 44, added: "Everybody has been really good. When people are raising money it makes you really grateful but it brings it home Millie is ill.

"You just have to take it day by day and hope for the best."