IT might have started with just a nasty cough, painful ear infection or upset tummy and with the right medication and rest, their parents hoped they would make a speedy recovery.

But for the children on the Piam Brown Ward, at Southampton General Hospital, the illnesses were the first signs that their tiny bodies were fighting a far more serious disease.

Blood tests confirmed every parent’s worst nightmare; their precious son or daughter had cancer. It’s a terrifying story that was repeated over and over during the Daily Echo’s visit to the region’s paediatric oncology centre.

Often it’s the first time cancer has touched their family and the initial reaction is almost universal – will their child live? Thankfully, innovative new treatments mean their chances of surviving are far higher than ever before.

Eight of ten children with the most common form of childhood leukaemia now survive, compared with one in ten just 40 years ago.

Advances in medical science have been made possible thanks largely to Cancer Research UK, the biggest funder of research into children’s cancer in the country.

The families of four brave local children being treated this week told their stories to show how fundraising events – such as Cancer Research UK’s Southampton Race for Life next month – saves lives.

Jo Phillpot’s world was turned upside down in April when her baby daughter, Georgia, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.

The 22-month-old had been suffering from a reoccurring chest infection and tests revealed her blood count was low. When her levels didn’t recover, a further bone marrow test confirmed their fears.

“It was devastating,” mum-of-three Jo, from Christchurch, said. “When you are told the diagnosis you automatically think the worst. I thought she was going to die, I though that was it.”

Doctors explained Georgia would undergo six months of chemotherapy and that she would get worse before she gets better. But they were confident the treatment would be a success as children with Down’s syndrome, such as Georgia, are highly responsive to chemotherapy.

Georgia is now in remission, and the prognosis is good, but she still faces another four months at hospital.

Jo, who emigrated from South Africa eight years ago, spends every day and night at her daughter’s side.

“This place basically becomes your second home,” she said. “The support we have received from the nurses and staff is incredible. I have got total confidence in them. They’ve always got a smile on their face, even if they’re not assigned to Georgia they will come in and say hello.”

Jo, who works at Christchurch Hospital, says the experience has changed her outlook on life and helped her realise how donating money, or blood, does make a difference.

“I see things in a whole new light,”

she explained. “Georgia gets blood transfusions. I’ve never given blood before, so that is now one of the first things I’m going to do. I’ve seen how you can make a difference.”

Vanessa Adamson was always planning to help make a difference by running with thousands of other women in Southampton’s Race for Life on July 11. However, the day will take on far more resonance after her three-year-old son, Joel, was diagnosed with a rare eye cancer just two months ago.

It was only spotted by chance when the Skandia worker noticed a strange reflection in one of Joel’s eyes when it caught the sunlight shining through a window.

“It kind of looked like a glass eye,”

she said. “I would try and recreate it but couldn’t. When we were in the bath I covered his good eye and asked him what he could see. He said he couldn’t see anything and thought I was playing a game with him.”

Shocked at the realisation her son was blind in one eye, she rushed him to the eye casualty department at Southampton General Hospital where it was discovered a tumour was growing in the retina.

Just 40 children a year in the UK are diagnosed with the condition, known as retinoblastoma and within two weeks Joel’s eye was noticeably bulging and changing colour. The only option was remove it.

“We were in complete shock. It was obvious what it was because his eye had changed so much. I just wanted them to tell me that he was not going to die,”

Vanessa, from Hythe, said.

“I was told it was completely treatable and there was 95 to 98 per cent success rate. The fact that he will live is completely down to the advances in research.

“I feel so lucky and grateful that he will live a normal life. I get upset sometimes that he has only got one eye, but he does not care at all. He is such a cheeky chappy and make us so happy.”

Ten-year-old Eleanor Kirk was busy putting the finishing touches to her model castle during the Echo’s visit. Art and craft is just one of the lessons taught at the ward’s school that helps keep children, like Eleanor, occupied during their treatment.

The St Bede School pupil was diagnosed with leukemia in April and faces another two to four months of chemotherapy. Her patient room has been decorated with her artwork and mum Katharine has taken leave from work at Primark to be at her side.

“This is her own little world,” Katharine, from Winchester, said. “The school activities and equipment, which are funded by something like Race for Life, really make a big difference, especially for someone like Eleanor who is not allowed to go out.”

She added: “It’s been tough. It’s a huge shock and it certainly makes you think about things differently. When you spend a long time in here you realise how many sick children there are.

“It’s quite a shock because many of these children you may not see again because they are seriously ill. It’s been a real eye-opener to see the number of children come and go.”

Nine-year-old Alex Hurst, from Winchester, is one such youngster who has been in and out of the ward since he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in 2004.

The Ropley Primary School pupil seemed to be in the clear after three months of intensive chemotherapy, followed by more than two years of maintenance treatment, only to relapse last November.

Mum Penny said the family’s experience of fighting cancer had been a different one compared with six years ago. She also had a word of advice for any parent going through it.

“We were completely shell-shocked the first time we came here, but the second time you know what to expect,” she said.

“It’s incredibly stressful, but it does come to an end point. You get your life back after two years and it goes back to completely normal again.”

Cancer in childhood is rare – each year 1,500 children are diagnosed with the disease in the UK. About three-quarters successfully treated, but it will still claim more than 300 lives in 2010.

Last year Cancer Research UK spent more than £9m on groundbreaking research into children’s cancer – about 60 per cent of children in the UK are on a clinical trial – and thousands are alive today because of it.

■ Southampton’s Race for Life will take place at Southampton Common at 11am on Sunday, July 11. The deadline for entries in Southampton is Thursday, July 8.

■ Entry costs £12.50 to cover the cost of organising and running the event. To sign up go to raceforlife.org or telephone 0871 641 1111.