A LITTLE boy who underwent life-saving treatment after developing a rare form of tumour is now recovering at home in York.

When Ethan Cordingley was just a few months old his mum Kelly noticed a swelling on his shoulder which had the appearance of a birth mark.

It continued to swell and doctors started to suspect Ethan was suffering from cancer before specialists in Leeds diagnosed him with an extremely rare tumour called Kaposiform Hemangioendothelioma.

Worryingly, the tumour was accompanied by the life-threatening platelet-trapping bleeding called Kasabach Merritt syndrome, which can cause haemorrhaging and has a mortality rate of about 30 per cent.

Ethan has since gone through chemotherapy to shrink the tumour and an emergency embolisation – a way of blocking abnormal blood vessels.

Following lengthy spells in hospital and Ethan, who is nearly two, is now in recovery at home with his mum Kelly, 26, dad Chris, 30, and sister Ruby, four, in Fulford.

Kelly said: “Ethan is a little star. To still get up and do everything he does makes us very proud.

“We are feeling very positive. If he can go through all that and still be the way he is gives us a lot of hope. He keeps us all strong.”

The embolisation was risky as Ethan was so small and has caused problems with his brain, which could potentially result in epilepsy in the future, Kelly said.

The treatment dealt with a secondary tumour on Ethan’s leg as well as his chest, but doctors cannot be sure the tumours will not return and Ethan has to continue to be monitored.

Kelly is now keen to raise awareness of the condition, which can first appear to be a birth mark, to increase the chance of early diagnosis.

“When we first got his diagnosis all we could find was a small doctor’s write up on the internet,” she said.

“We were totally in the dark. There was no light at the end of the tunnel, we didn’t know anything about it, but now we do, so if he did have a relapse it wouldn’t be as scary.

“We have put the tumour to sleep once.

“We are lucky because we have a big family and we are very well supported.”