AN INCE youngster is urging people across the North West to clear out their wardrobes and drawers to help save lives like hers.

Millie McKee, aged three, who has been treated successfully for leukaemia, is supporting Give Up Clothes for Good, a partnership between TK Maxx and Cancer Research UK Kids & Teens.

She is rallying people across the North West to help beat children’s cancers sooner by dropping off any clothing, accessories and quality homeware they no longer need at their nearest TK Maxx store.

Millie posed with a megaphone to help highlight the message loud and clear – unwanted clothes really could save lives.

Each bag of donated items will be transformed into vital funds for research into cures and kinder treatments for cancers affecting children, teens and young adults, when they are sold in Cancer Research UK shops.

Millie is one of around 160 children in the region who are diagnosed with the disease every year*, so her family know firsthand just how important new breakthroughs and discoveries are to help more young people survive.

Mum Leanne, aged 28, said: “When we were told Millie had leukaemia, we were terrified that we were going to lose her. But she is such a little fighter. She coped with months of treatment with unbelievable bravery, strength and resilience – despite all the things she was missing out on while she was ill.

“We’re so grateful for the treatment that saved her life. Success stories like ours would not be possible without Cancer Research UK’s life-saving work, which in turn relies on everyone who raises crucial funds.”

Since its launch in 2004, everyone who has detoxed their cupboards or donated money in support of Give Up Clothes for Good has helped TK Maxx raise a staggering £25.5 million for Cancer Research UK.

Over £21 million of this total directly funds work to help find better and kinder treatments for youngsters like Millie.

Millie started to limp slightly in 2014. She was diagnosed with irritable hip, but a blood test suggested her white blood count was amiss. She had a bad cold in the run-up to Christmas and it was suggested her leg wouldn’t improve until her cold had gone.

On New Year’s Eve lunchtime, her parents Leanne and Stewart were advised to take her for another blood test. And at 7pm that evening their lives were changed forever when a doctor called and asked them to go to hospital immediately. Millie was very pale, but lively. She underwent a blood transfusion on January 1 which made a huge difference and was then transferred to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

It took a further ten days to diagnose the type of leukaemia she had which was. AML (acute myeloid leukaemia). She began an immediate course of chemotherapy and was very poorly the first month of treatment losing hair and losing weight. She developed cellulitis, needed antibiotics and was fed through a tube.

Her parents took it in turns to stay with her overnight. From having been admitted on New Year’s Eve, Millie only came home for a few days at the start of February. She successfully completed the chemotherapy and has regular check-ups

Leanne added: “We are urging people across Wigan to support Give Up Clothes for Good by whittling down their wardrobes, clearing out their cupboards and dropping off as many unwanted items as they can at TK Maxx stores.

“We will definitely be having a good de-clutter and hope others will be inspired to do the same. In doing so, we can all help Cancer Research UK Kids & Teens ensure that more children, like Millie, survive cancer in the future.”

AML is a cancer of the white blood cells, which help the body to fight infection. Around 75 children are diagnosed with AML each year in Britain.2

Thanks to major advances in treatment, more than six out of ten children with AML are now cured, compared to less than one in ten in the 1960s.

The Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital is one of 21 centres across the UK and Ireland taking part in groundbreaking research coordinated by Cancer Research UK’s Children’s Cancer Trials Team. These trials make innovative new treatments available to children with cancer in Manchester.

TK Maxx is the biggest corporate supporter of research into children’s cancers in the UK, where around three quarters of children now survive their disease beyond ten years, compared to more than a third in the 1970s**.

Jane Bullock, Cancer Research UK Kids & Teens spokesperson for the North West, said: “Thanks to research, more youngsters are surviving cancer than ever before. But there’s still so much more to do.

“The disease has a devastating impact on children, forcing them to show bravery beyond their years. Treatment can last for months, or even years, meaning long stays in hospital away from siblings and friends.Unfortunately, some children also have to face living with side-effects from their treatment which can last long into adult life.

“So we hope people across the North West will support our mission to find cures and kinder treatments for children’s cancers. Each item of clothing donated at TK Maxx will bring us one step closer to beating the disease.”

Tony Slipman, Retail director for TK Maxx, said: “The Give Up Clothes for Good Campaign has been running for over 12 years now and thanks to the generosity of the British public, we have been able to raise over £25.5 million for Cancer Research UK.

“We are very proud of the contribution that we can make that will help Cancer Research UK do the vital work to beat children’s cancers and support improvement in treatments and cures for children affected by cancer.”

For more information on how to support Give Up Clothes for Good and Cancer Research UK Kids & Teens, please visitcruk.org/kidsandteens.

BOX OUT

BAG IT, BRING IT, BEAT CHILDREN’S CANCERS SOONER

Every year, around 160 children are diagnosed with cancer in the North West.

Give Up Clothes for Good – a partnership between TK Maxx and Cancer Research UK Kids & Teens – is the UK’s longest running clothes collection and since 2004 has raised millions to fund life-saving research into children’s cancers.

This September – Childhood Cancer Awareness Month – the campaign is asking people across the North West to:

Bag up any unwanted clothing, accessories or quality homeware

Bring to any TK Maxx store

Beat children’s cancers sooner

Money raised will help to accelerate Cancer Research UK’s work into cures and kinder treatments for cancers affecting children, teens and young adults.

Find out more at cruk.org/kidsandteens.