A 15-year-old boy has been given just months to live after a rare heart cancer was repeatedly mistaken for asthma by doctors.
Jude Hazard was prescribed two different inhalers after complaining of breathlessness in May.
But the teen’s symptoms rapidly worsened until he could barely walk without stopping to catch his breath, prompting his parents to take him back to his GP six times.
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It was only after his mum Katie, 39, and dad Danny, 42, took him to hospital in July that doctors discovered an eight-centimetre tumour growing on his heart.
Jude underwent emergency open-heart surgery the same day, during which he suffered a cardiac arrest and flatlined for two minutes before surgeons managed to save his life.
Although the tumour was removed, the teenager has since been diagnosed with intimal sarcoma, an aggressive form of heart cancer and has been told he has between eight and 17 months to live.
“We can’t accept that and we have to fight it,” Danny, a project manager from Sunderland, told Need To Know.
“It doesn’t feel real.
“Jude was the one asking how long he has left.
“We were crying, he said to Katie ‘it’s alright mum’.
“The nurses were blown away by him.
“His friends were crying and he told them it was alright.
“He’s the strongest person.”
The family were on holiday in Florida in April along with Jude’s sister, Mason, 12, when Jude first started complaining of breathlessness.
Back in the UK, Katie took him to the GP and he was prescribed an inhaler for asthma, but it made no difference.
Intimal sarcoma is a rare tumour that can mimic asthma or blood clots because it causes shortness of breath, coughing, and chest pain.
Danny said: “When we got back, he was the same so we took him to the doctor and they said they thought it was asthma.
“He’s never had asthma and he’s never shown signs of asthma before but we believed the doctors.
“We know you can be diagnosed later in life and the symptoms were similar to asthma.
“They gave him an inhaler but it wasn’t making any difference so we took him back and they said they thought it was sport-related asthma.
“He has a kick about with the lads and loves the gym but he doesn’t really do sports so we were sceptical.”
Jude was given a stronger inhaler, but visibly started to struggle – needing to take breaks while walking small distances.
His dad said: “Jude and his friends went out on a bike ride [one day], and he got to the end of the street but had to come back because he was so out of breath.
“We took him to the doctors again and asked for tests but they told us to give it time for the inhalers to work.
“We were so frustrated.
“Katie was saying it wasn’t asthma – you know your own child.
“They kept telling us to give the inhaler time to work.
“Then he was vomiting, so we took him back and they said he had a viral infection and to go back in a month so we decided to take matters into our own hands.”
But when Jude deteriorated so much that he “couldn’t put one foot in front of the other”, his parents took him to A&E.
There, a cardiologist carried out an X-ray of Jude’s heart and discovered the tumour.
Surgeons rushed him into a five-hour emergency operation.
Doctors also warned the family there had been a 10% chance Jude could suffer a stroke during surgery and a 5% chance he could die.
Danny said: “When we were told he’d need surgery, we were wiped out.
“It was a whirlwind.
“We felt like we weren’t there.
“They removed the tumour and told us that because he’d flatlined for two minutes, he could be brain damaged.
“After the operation, he squeezed my finger.
“I asked if he was there and he squeezed again so I asked if he was alright and he put his thumb up.
“It was the day of the World Cup semi final and he tapped on his wrist to ask what time the football was on.
“I bust out [crying] in relief that he wasn’t brain damaged.”
Although the tumour was successfully removed, further tests confirmed it was intimal sarcoma, a rare, aggressive cancer that starts in the inner lining of large blood vessels or the heart.
Jude stayed in hospital for a week and is now taking medication for a leaking heart valve caused by the surgery and faces regular CT, MRI and echocardiogram scans.
The family have also received the devastating news that his prognosis is between eight and 17 months.
His devastated parents have now launched a fundraiser in the hope of finding experimental treatment overseas after being told there are no further options available in the UK.
Danny added: “It’s heartbreaking.
“His little sister is devastated but she’s being strong.
“The doctors said they can’t operate or do a heart transplant.
“There are no trials they can offer in this country so we want to get abroad.
“We read a story about a girl who had a heart issue, told she couldn’t get an operation, went to Boston in the US, and she’s flourishing.
“We’ll try anything.
“Jude is so sociable, wants to be out with his friends and loves the gym.
“He [usually] walks 40 minutes to the gym after school.
“He’s unbelievable.
“I’ve never had to tell him to do his homework, he’s so intelligent, very academic and he’s never in bother.
“He has the best bunch of mates.
“He’s an absolute diamond and anyone who meets him sees that.
“He just keeps saying he wants to be normal, he said this might be his last six weeks holiday and he wants to enjoy it with his friends.
“He’s my hero and we’re so proud of him.
We’re not giving up.”
To donate, go to: Donate to Jude: A Brave 15-Year-Old’s Fight Against Rare Heart Cancer, organized by Tony Margiotta
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