THE FAMILY of a seriously ill Portland toddler is hoping to raise awareness of brain tumours in children after their story appeared on national television for Children In Need.

Molly Poole, 3 (4 in December), from Weston, suffers from a Medulloblastoma brain tumour and had to undergo a ten hour operation, five cycles of chemotherapy and eight rounds of radiotherapy, which caused her to lose her hair twice.

Watch Molly's amazing story here: 

Molly's mum Sam Tucker, 39, said Molly had the tumour for two years before she was diagnosed and because her daughter was so young when she started getting symptoms, it was difficult for her to communicate how ill she was feeling.

She said: “What we experienced was a late diagnosis, which is why we are trying to raise awareness. Brain tumours in children are more common than meningitis and ten children are diagnosed with brain tumours every week. They are almost always late diagnoses and children are dying as a result of this.”

Sam, who was five months pregnant when Molly was diagnosed, said medical staff failed to pick up a 'massive' increase in Molly's head circumference, and initially misdiagnosed her daughter with a virus six weeks before they found she had a tumour after Molly had a seizure.

Sam said: “Raising awareness is what it's all been about. We weren't aware of the symptoms and should we have known then, I would have pushed [for tests] much harder. The HeadSmart campaign is to get early diagnosis to get a better chance of quick treatment, fewer side effects and no disabilities [because of the tumours].”

Miss Tucker hopes their story, which was broadcast on this year's BBC Children In Need, and will raise crucial awareness about brain tumours.

She said: “We are so grateful for what we have. After Molly's initial operation she didn't speak for four weeks because she had posterior fossa syndrome, and we didn't know if she would ever speak again. We haven't had remission yet but we are hoping for that soon. The 'c-word' in our house is not cancer, it's cure.”

Sam added her cousin Alex Tucker has also been fundraising for the charity by running 2014 miles across the year and a London Marathon run and fete on Portland are being planned to help raise money in the future.

Sarah Lindsell, Chief Executive of The Brain Tumour Charity, said: “Molly's bravery and spirit has captured so many hearts and her family's determination to build something positive out of their experience is truly inspirational.

“By sharing their story and raising awareness of childhood brain tumour symptoms, Samantha and Jon will help to bring down the time it takes to diagnose others - and we know that will save lives.”