Frances and Ceri Menai-Davis, who lost their son Hugh to cancer, say gap in financial help is ‘devastating’
Parents of critically ill children are being “crushed” by a lack of statutory financial support when they need to take time off work, the parents of a six-year-old boy who died of cancer have said.
Hugh Menai-Davis was diagnosed with a rare form of the disease when he fell ill suddenly in October 2020. The boy, then aged five, had been happy and healthy before he developed severe stomach pains.
A GP initially told Hugh’s mother, Frances Menai-Davis, over the phone that it was probably gastroenteritis and would pass in a few days. She decided to take Hugh to hospital after growing concerned about his abnormally swollen stomach.
Tests showed Hugh had a rare type of cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma, which affects muscles attached to the bone and is diagnosed in about 50 children every year.
