THE parents of a three-year-old boy fighting a rare form of cancer said recent test results have given them hope.

Adam Welch and his partner Louise Slater from Oakdale said their world was shattered when their eldest son Oliver Welch was diagnosed with cancer of the specialised nerve cells known as neuroblastoma.

Following the diagnosis in June, Oliver was given a 30 to 50 per cent chance of survival after doctors found tumours in his chest and his liver.

Last month, Oliver completed his eighth round of chemotherapy at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and underwent a series of tests and found that the tumours in his liver had decreased significantly.

Father Adam Welch said: “We couldn’t believe it when we got the news, it was brilliant to hear. This is the first good news we’ve had since we got the diagnoses, it’s given us hope. He had a lot of tumours, we were told before hand not to expect it to clear everything up.

“They told us it normally fails 50 per cent of the time so we were braced for bad news. The last three months have felt like we were just dealing with his symptoms.

“This is confirmation that it might be working.”

The initial success of the chemotherapy means Oliver will be able to have the tumour in his chest surgically removed.

Following the surgery, Oliver will undergo high-dose chemotherapy, during which he will be in isolation for six weeks, before he completing three weeks of radiotherapy.

Oliver’s parents said immunotherapy would be a crucial part of treating his cancer as it would boost his natural defences after the high-dose chemotherapy.

But after missing the chance to take part in a clinical trial in America, the family are looking to raise the £200,000 they estimate it will cost, and are already up to £50,000.

In a bid to boost donations the family have organised a Family Fun Day this Saturday at Cherry Tree Cricket Club and a Halloween Carnival at Darwen Vale High School on October 29.