Boy diagnosed with two cancers before age 3 after parents spotted unusual sign
The family of Felix Disney-Moore, now aged four, from Sandhurst, Berkshire, found themselves relieved the second cancer was leukaemia as it meant the first hadn't spread
A mum of a young boy who has had two rare cancers before the age of three has told why she first went to a doctor with him after seeing something unusual.
Felix Disney-Moore, now aged four, had no symptoms until his mum, Hayley Disney, 40, spotted a white glow in his left eye and took him for a check-up at Frimley Park Hospital, Surrey. He was urgently referred to Royal London Hospital and diagnosed with bilateral retinoblastoma - a form of eye cancer that affects both eyes - and the family were told he'd need his left eye removed to save his life.
But a day before he was due to have his surgery, an MRI revealed a third tumour - and he was diagnosed with trilateral retinoblastoma with leptomeningeal disease instead - and Felix had to undergo eight months of aggressive chemotherapy.
The family hoped they were out of the woods but a post-treatment scan three months later picked up a mass on his liver. Tests revealed Felix had lymphoma - a type of blood cancer - and he has spent the last two years undergoing chemotherapy and should finally finish in July.
Hayley and Felix's dad, Tom Moore, 44, a retail manager, are fundraising to take Felix and his sister Thea, seven, to Disney World, Florida. Hayley, who previously worked as the head of operations for a digital app, from Sandhurst, Berkshire, said: "I noticed a slight white glow in his eye and thought 'I'll go get it checked out'.
"Literally everything changed. He was such a happy baby we thought 'are we going to lose him?'. But he's so amazing. Felix astonishes me everyday. He still has such a zest for life."
Hayley suddenly spotted the glow the day after Felix's second birthday in August 2022. She took him to hospital to get it checked out, told he was blind in his left eye, and was then urgently referred to Royal London Hospital.
A week later a red reflex test - looking at the back of the eye using a light - revealed Felix had bilateral retinoblastoma and the family had to come to terms with their son losing his left eye to save his life. Hayley said: "You don't have time to process. You just have to do. It was incredibly daunting."
But the day before his surgery Hayley received a phone call from Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) telling her a pre-op MRI scan had revealed a third tumour in his pineal gland and a leak into his brain. This meant Felix's new diagnosis was trilateral retinoblastoma and he would need an aggressive chemotherapy instead.
Hayley said: "GOSH had seen one other case in the last 10 years - now 12. It was a lot to process. There were no statistics. We had absolutely no clue on success rates. It was really frightening."
Felix started on five cycles of chemotherapy in September 2022 - after each cycle he became extremely unwell. After his last 40 day stay on a high dose Felix had a stem cell transplant in March 2023 and the family hoped they would be able to have a normal life again.
Hayley said: "We found ourselves in this new world of just waiting, watching every breath Felix took, wondering. But we started to get to life. We went back to work, Felix started to build his strength." But after Felix's post-treatment scan in June 2023 the family were given bad news.
Hayley said: "They could see something on his liver." Felix had all sorts of tests including biopsies, lumbar punctures, MRIs and ultrasounds and doctors thought his retinoblastoma had spread which would have meant there was nothing more they could do.
Hayley said: "How was I going to explain it to Felix? How do you explain to your child they are going to die? He'd been getting stronger and enjoying life."
But the family were relieved when a PET scan revealed it was actually leukaemia - and later reconfirmed as lymphoma - and treatable. Hayley said: "It was a massive shock to them that it came back as treatable. It was feeling very wrong to be celebrating your child has lymphoma. But it was amazing news."
Felix had to start more chemotherapy at Southampton Hospital in July 2023. Hayley said: "It hit Felix hard. He'd already gone through this gruelling eight months of high level chemotherapy. He gained a lot of weight and he stopped walking."
Felix has been going through chemotherapy for the last two years - and also faced a sepsis scare when his port became infected - but is now nearing the end of treatment in July 2025. He has been left with damaged hearing due to treatment and will have to wear a hearing aid for the rest of his life but has always kept a smile on his face.
Hayley now wants to give some normality back to her children and treat them to a trip to Disney World. But the family have run out of savings after using what they had squirrelled away over the last few years.
Their friends have set up a fundraiser to raise money to get the family on holiday following the end of Felix's treatment - as Hayley still fears the cancer could return. Hayley said: "They deserve the world. It's a massive chunk of their childhood taken away. They deserve something fun. I want something special for them."
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Boy diagnosed with two cancers before age 3 after parents spotted unusual sign
The family of Felix Disney-Moore, now aged four, from Sandhurst, Berkshire, found themselves relieved the second cancer was leukaemia as it meant the first hadn't spread A mum of a young boy who has had two rare cancers before the age of three has told why she first went to a doctor with him after seeing something unusual. Felix Disney-Moore, now aged four, had no symptoms until his mum, Hayley Disney, 40, spotted a white glow in his left eye and took him for a check-up at Frimley Park Hospital, Surrey. He was urgently referred to Royal London Hospital and diagnosed with bilateral retinoblastoma - a form of eye cancer that affects both eyes - and the family were told he'd need his left eye removed to save his life. But a day before he was due to have his surgery, an MRI revealed a third tumour - and he was diagnosed with trilateral retinoblastoma with leptomeningeal disease instead - and Felix had to undergo eight months of aggressive chemotherapy. The family hoped they were out of the woods but a post-treatment scan three months later picked up a mass on his liver. Tests revealed Felix had lymphoma - a type of blood cancer - and he has spent the last two years undergoing chemotherapy and should finally finish in July. Hayley and Felix's dad, Tom Moore, 44, a retail manager, are fundraising to take Felix and his sister Thea, seven, to Disney World, Florida. Hayley, who previously worked as the head of operations for a digital app, from Sandhurst, Berkshire, said: "I noticed a slight white glow in his eye and thought 'I'll go get it checked out'. "Literally everything changed. He was such a happy baby we thought 'are we going to lose him?'. But he's so amazing. Felix astonishes me everyday. He still has such a zest for life." Hayley suddenly spotted the glow the day after Felix's second birthday in August 2022. She took him to hospital to get it checked out, told he was blind in his left eye, and was then urgently referred to Royal London Hospital. A week later a red reflex test - looking at the back of the eye using a light - revealed Felix had bilateral retinoblastoma and the family had to come to terms with their son losing his left eye to save his life. Hayley said: "You don't have time to process. You just have to do. It was incredibly daunting." But the day before his surgery Hayley received a phone call from Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) telling her a pre-op MRI scan had revealed a third tumour in his pineal gland and a leak into his brain. This meant Felix's new diagnosis was trilateral retinoblastoma and he would need an aggressive chemotherapy instead. Hayley said: "GOSH had seen one other case in the last 10 years - now 12. It was a lot to process. There were no statistics. We had absolutely no clue on success rates. It was really frightening." Felix started on five cycles of chemotherapy in September 2022 - after each cycle he became extremely unwell. After his last 40 day stay on a high dose Felix had a stem cell transplant in March 2023 and the family hoped they would be able to have a normal life again. Hayley said: "We found ourselves in this new world of just waiting, watching every breath Felix took, wondering. But we started to get to life. We went back to work, Felix started to build his strength." But after Felix's post-treatment scan in June 2023 the family were given bad news. Hayley said: "They could see something on his liver." Felix had all sorts of tests including biopsies, lumbar punctures, MRIs and ultrasounds and doctors thought his retinoblastoma had spread which would have meant there was nothing more they could do. Hayley said: "How was I going to explain it to Felix? How do you explain to your child they are going to die? He'd been getting stronger and enjoying life." But the family were relieved when a PET scan revealed it was actually leukaemia - and later reconfirmed as lymphoma - and treatable. Hayley said: "It was a massive shock to them that it came back as treatable. It was feeling very wrong to be celebrating your child has lymphoma. But it was amazing news." Felix had to start more chemotherapy at Southampton Hospital in July 2023. Hayley said: "It hit Felix hard. He'd already gone through this gruelling eight months of high level chemotherapy. He gained a lot of weight and he stopped walking." Felix has been going through chemotherapy for the last two years - and also faced a sepsis scare when his port became infected - but is now nearing the end of treatment in July 2025. He has been left with damaged hearing due to treatment and will have to wear a hearing aid for the rest of his life but has always kept a smile on his face. Hayley now wants to give some normality back to her children and treat them to a trip to Disney World. But the family have run out of savings after using what they had squirrelled away over the last few years. Their friends have set up a fundraiser to raise money to get the family on holiday following the end of Felix's treatment - as Hayley still fears the cancer could return. Hayley said: "They deserve the world. It's a massive chunk of their childhood taken away. They deserve something fun. I want something special for them."
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He was such a happy baby we thought 'are we going to lose him?'. But he's so amazing. Felix astonishes me every day. He still has such a zest for life." Hayley noticed the glow the day after Felix's second birthday in August 2022. She rushed him to hospital for an examination, where they discovered he was blind in his left eye, and he was immediately referred to Royal London Hospital. A week later, a red reflex test - which involves shining a light at the back of the eye - revealed that Felix had bilateral retinoblastoma. The family had to grapple with the reality that their son would lose his left eye in order to save his life. Hayley said: "You don't have time to process. You just have to do. It was incredibly daunting." However, on the eve of his surgery, Hayley received a phone call from Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) informing her that a pre-op MRI scan had uncovered a third tumour in his pineal gland and a leak into his brain. This led to a revised diagnosis of trilateral retinoblastoma for Felix, necessitating aggressive chemotherapy treatment. Hayley shared: "GOSH had seen one other case in the last 10 years - now 12. It was a lot to process. There were no statistics. We had absolutely no clue on success rates. It was really frightening." Felix embarked on a challenging journey with five rounds of chemotherapy starting in September 2022, each cycle left him severely ill. His hardships continued with a prolonged 40-day hospital stay during which he underwent a high dose treatment and stem cell transplant in March 2023, igniting the family's hope for a return to normalcy. Hayley said: "We found ourselves in this new world of just waiting, watching every breath Felix took, wondering. But we started to get to life. We went back to work, Felix started to build his strength." However, the post-treatment scan in June 2023 delivered a devastating blow to the family when an abnormality was discovered on Felix's liver, Hayley revealed: "They could see something on his liver." Subjected to an array of tests such as biopsies, lumbar punctures, MRIs, and ultrasounds, there were fears that Felix's retinoblastoma had metastasised, potentially leaving no options for further treatment. Amidst the turmoil, Hayley agonised over the unthinkable task she faced: "How was I going to explain it to Felix? How do you explain to your child they are going to die? He'd been getting stronger and enjoying life." In a stunning turn of events, the family's anguish was replaced with immense relief when a positron emission tomography scan indicated Felix instead had treatable leukaemia, which was later confirmed as lymphoma. Describing the oscillation of emotions, Hayley said: "It was a massive shock to them that it came back as treatable. It was feeling very wrong to be celebrating your child has lymphoma. But it was amazing news." Felix had to undergo further chemotherapy at Southampton Hospital in July 2023. Hayley discussed the toll it took: "It hit Felix hard. He'd already gone through this gruelling eight months of high level chemotherapy. He gained a lot of weight and he stopped walking." After two years of chemotherapy and a daunting sepsis episode due to an infected port, brave Felix is finally approaching the end of his treatment in July 2025. Although left with impaired hearing necessitating a lifelong use of a hearing aid, Felix has remained cheerful throughout his ordeal. Hayley is eager to restore some normalcy to her children's lives with a dream trip to Disney World. However, the family's funds have been depleted after exhausting their savings over the past few years. Kind-hearted friends have rallied to launch a fundraiser aiming to send the family on holiday once Felix completes his treatment – a gesture that touches Hayley deeply as she continues to worry about a potential cancer relapse. Emotionally, Hayley stated: "They deserve the world. It's a massive chunk of their childhood taken away. They deserve something fun. I want something special for them." To support the family and fulfill their Disney wish, donations can be made here
