A TEENAGER has been denied lifeline cancer treatment as she's neither considered a child, nor adult.

Faith Shone, aged 16, is currently battling Acute myeloid leukemia  - which was caused by the heavy doses of chemotherapy she received two years ago to treat a leg tumour. Tragically, the chemotherapy isn't working. 

Her father, Tim, originally from Buckley, said consultants say a higher dose has a 80 per cent chance of causing Faith's heart to fail.

This left an option of stem cell and CAR-T therapies which can be given as part of a trial.​

However, 16 and 17-year-olds are not eligible for any medical trials for treatments for illnesses - because they are neither classed as an adult nor a child.

(Image: UGC)

"Under 15s are classed as children, and over 18s adults," Tim said. "This leaves 16 and 17 year olds in limbo."

Her family, who live in Greater Manchester, has been left trying desperately to fund the treatment privately. They have so far raised £40,000 of the £70,000 they need - but need to raise the rest over the next three to four weeks. The fundraising page can be accessed via https://bit.ly/3z6hCEX.

Tim said: "It is a race against the clock and, in many ways so unfair. If Faith were any younger, or 18 and over, we'd immediately be putting her through for a free trial.

"But due to this crazy anomaly of 16 and 17-year-olds not having them, we have got a fundraising emergency to contend with first.

"This blind spot is ridiculous and it must affect a lot of teenagers, given how many children have cancer these days."

Faith has just started college - where she is studying fine art, after completing her GCSEs from her hospital bed at Alder Hey. 

The Cytokine therapy will be used in the hope of getting Faith to the remission stage before she is then able to get the bone marrow transplant she needs.

Her 13-year-old sister Skye is willing to donate bone marrow cells for a transplant, after being found to be 100 per cent compatible.

However, that procedure depends on the stem cell pioneering therapy to bring the number of blast cells in Faith’s bones down to one per cent or less (from the current 16 per cent).