Hayling Island community rallies around 18-year-old Cassie who has been diagnosed with leukemia

Cassie Buckland is going through the wringer after being diagnosed with an aggressive type of leukemia just months after celebrating becoming an adult.

The 18-year-old began experiencing fatigue and found herself coming out in bruises ‘like she had been in a car crash’, and so she went to her doctor surgery to try and get to the bottom of what was going on.

After having numerous rounds of blood tests, Cassie’s mum, Hayley requested her daughter’s blood test results and after working in oncology, she knew there was something wrong as soon as she laid eyes on her results.

She said: ‘I asked reception for a copy of her blood test results and felt physically sick because it was the same test results that I had seen on the oncology ward.’

Cassie has spent ten weeks in Southampton General Hospital where she has done her first round of chemotherapy, but she still has more to go and she is currently awaiting a bone marrow transplant.

Hayley said: ‘We have been in hospital for ten week and there is no sign of going home yet. She is very positive obviously she has her down days.

‘She has got to have a bone marrow transplant, but we don’t know how well the chemotherapy has worked yet so we are waiting to hear from the doctors.

‘She is in a teenage ward so she has her own room, it is a really nice ward, the staff are lovely and have been absolutely amazing. We have got our own kitchen area, it is nice under the circumstances and I am allowed to stay here with her.’

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The teen has worked for John’s Cafe, Hayling Island, as John is family, and the staff at the cafe decided to raise money for her and her family to ensure that if they need anything, they have the funds.

They held a 24 hour cycling event where people from the community came to take part in riding the bike at the cafe to help Cassie.

The event started on November 26 at midday through to November 27, and John Priestly, saw a range of people getting involved including an NHS worker who had come to help straight after a shift.

John said: ‘She is so young and has got her whole life ahead of her and it is a sad situation, but I am sure she will come out of it on the other side and leave it as a distant memory.’

John thinks that the event, alongside his current fundraiser has raised approximately £6,000, but the donations are still coming in, and anything else will be put towards helping Cassie’s family.

Hayley added: ‘I think it is amazing, my daughter, who is ten, took part in the cycle, she did one in the evening and then the last 13 minutes of the remaining cycle and it made her feel like she is doing something for Cassie and I think Cassie was just happy at the amount of people, who don’t even know her, came together to help.

‘I just think it is amazing that that many people who don’t know her did it.’