Remarkable boy Olly, from Waterlooville, was his mum's rock through cancer treatment

Sonia Goldring-Banachowicz was diagnosed with breast cancer last summer and throughout her treatment Olly has been by her side.

Olly, who attends St John’s CoE School in Rowlands Castle, even put his fifth birthday party on hold so his mum could attend her final radiotherapy session.

Sonia, from Idsworth in Waterlooville, said: ‘During my treatment, Olly would sit with me in the oncology department and was always there to make me smile.

‘My two older children, aged 16 and 18 at the time, would come too but Olly was there every single step of the way. When I realised my last radiotherapy session was on his birthday I talked to the doctors about changing the date but Olly didn’t want me to.

‘He made cupcakes and brought them into the hospital, spending time handing them out to all the nurses.

‘He’s a remarkable little boy and a true star.’

Sonia, 40, finished treatment last month and four months after he turned five Olly had a Star Wars-themed birthday party with his school friends.

Sonia said sharing her diagnosis with Olly helped her deal with the news that she had breast cancer.

She added simplifying it for Olly made the situation feel more light-hearted.

‘A small child has no comprehension of what cancer is. It must have been a scary word for Olly,’ she said.

‘Explaining everything in a way that a young child could understand made the whole situation feel more lighthearted.’

The start of Sonia’s treatment fell on her 40th birthday when her had a lumpectomy.

She added: ‘They say life begins at 40 and for me it really did.

‘After my operation, Olly visited me in hospital and bought me a birthday present – a toy unicorn from his favourite film.’

After the lumpectomy, Sonia received six sessions of chemotherapy treatment.

When her hair began falling out, a side effect of the treatment, she did the brave thing and had her head shaved.

‘Olly did the first cut of my hair with the trimmers,’ she said.

‘He wasn’t nervous at all, he just wanted to help make me feel better.

‘Silly things like asking me if I would still look like a mummy, and not a daddy, made it so much easier.’