WHEN little Isabella Alderton was bitten by a dog, little did she know it would save her mum’s life.

That’s because the nine-year-old’s suffering led to medics diagnosing her mum Claire with a life-threatening cancer.

Doctors said if left untreated or if the treatment failed, she would have had just months to live.

Today, more than two years on, the mum-of-one hails her daughter a lifesaver in more ways than one because it was the little girl’s love and care to her mum through her darkest days that gave Claire the strength to take on the biggest battle of her life.

Claire, 37, said: “I don’t like to think about what would have happened if we hadn’t have gone to hospital after the dog bite.

“Isabella is my little angel and she means the world to me. She took a lot of responsibility on her young shoulders. I am incredibly proud of her.

“Cancer was in a strange way one of the best things to ever happen to me. I know who my true friends are, I don’t waste time on things that would stress me out, I know how amazing my family can be and I have an amazing little girl in Isabella, who never once complained about anything.

“Today I stop making excuses for how I’d love to live my life and just get on and live it every day with the people who matter most.”

Claire, a charity worker, whose partner Ben, 38, from Alton, is in the RAF and often works abroad for months, had suffered from abdominal pain for several years but neither doctor or hospital appointments revealed the problem.

However, in the summer of 2012 Isabella was bitten by a rottweiler dog on her ankle when she went to a friend’s house.

Claire took her to the GP to get the minor bite checked out – but it was Claire herself who ended up in hospital.

She had been suffering with such crippling pain at the time, the practice nurse treating Isabella suggested she had a blood test there and then.

The results raised concerns and further tests confirmed Claire had ovarian cancer.

She was told that without treatment she would have just months to live and she even considered turning it down in order to enjoy the time she had left with her family instead of undergoing gruelling treatment.

Claire explained: “Isabella had to grow up before her time and for that I feel guilty. She suddenly became aware that parents are not immortal. We were always up front with her about what was wrong with me and I don’t know how I would have got through it without her.

“I was told without treatment or if the treatment did not work, I would have six or eight months to live. I considered refusing treatment to be well enough to enjoy the time I had left.”

Isabella, as well as Ben, encouraged Claire to be positive, and Isabella sealed the decision by challenging her mum to be brave and face the potentially gruelling treatment.

Within weeks Claire was having major surgery.

Chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment followed and Claire ended more than two years of treatment in February. A recent check-up confirmed that Claire was doing well, although the diagnosis has left her with some debilitating side effects, which include seizures.

Claire explained that Isabella’s childhood was put on hold as she took on the role of carer, dealing with anything from emergency help calls to preparing meals.

Claire also had to go without cuddles because physical contact caused her pain.

She added: “I have never once heard Isabella complain even though my treatment stopped her enjoying things most children her age take for granted.

“People often don’t realise when cancer patients finish treatment they are not yet out of the woods. I didn’t feel elation, just relief that the treatment was successful.”

Now Claire and Isabella, a pupil at Swanmore Primary School, have teamed up to ‘bite back at cancer’ as they encourage people in Hampshire to become BBQ heroes and raise money for life-saving research.

Daily Echo:

BBQ for Cancer Research UK is a summer fundraising campaign which calls on supporters to host a BBQ any time this July, or join in the Big BBQ Weekend on July 11 and 12.

Claire, said: “BBQs were wonderful during challenging times as Isabella was able to be a child again, bouncing on the trampoline and running through the sprinkler, enjoying the fresh air with her friends.

“I’ve come through the treatment now and I’m determined to help raise as much money as possible for Cancer Research UK to fund research to help more people survive”.

BBQ hosts are encouraged to invite friends and family to make a donation to attend, to raise money to help beat cancer sooner.

Helen Johnstone, Cancer Research UK spokesperson for Hampshire, said: “One in two people in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer at some stage in their lives, but the good news is more people are surviving now than ever before.

“Our aim is that one day everyone will beat this devastating disease – and the more research we can fund, the sooner that day will come.

“That’s why we’re calling on our BBQ heroes to step up to the grill and get fired up in the fight against cancer. Every pound donated will help us to fund life-saving research to help beat 200 types of cancer.”

  • To sign up to be a BBQ hero and get a free Cancer Research UK BBQ pack, go to: cruk.org/BBQ.