### Teacher’s Keen Eye Leads to Life-Saving Diagnosis for Seven-Year-Old Boy
A mother from Dundonald, Northern Ireland, has praised her son’s primary school staff after a teacher’s vigilance led to the discovery of a brain tumour in her seven-year-old son, Todd Vance. The now 22-year-old’s journey from a string of ear infections to a devastating diagnosis on Christmas Eve is a compelling reminder of the crucial role that educators can play in children’s welfare.
Todd’s early years were relatively typical, marred only by recurring ear infections. However, mum Ellen Vance, 52, says it was a minor difficulty with reading that initially raised suspicion. “We thought Todd might be dyslexic, as it runs in our family,” Ellen explained, recalling the period when Todd received special reading support at school. This would prove to be the first in a series of signs that something more serious was at play.
The pivotal moment came when the school’s vice principal approached Ellen with concerns that went beyond learning difficulties. The teacher had noticed Todd occasionally staring into space, unresponsive even when someone waved a hand in front of his face—a symptom she recognised as possible ‘petit mal’ or absence seizures. This vital observation, based on the teacher’s previous experience with similar cases, spurred the family into action.
Following the teacher’s advice, Todd was referred by his GP for hospital tests and brain scans. Initial relief came with a diagnosis of a cyst, but Ellen’s anxiety surged when a neurosurgeon was consulted—a step she described as having “serious implications”. It was just before Christmas 2008 when the true nature of Todd’s condition became clear: what was thought to be a cyst was, in fact, a slow-growing brain tumour.
The diagnosis, delivered on Christmas Eve, left the family reeling. Doctors determined that immediate aggressive treatment was unnecessary and instead adopted a ‘watch and wait’ approach. Yet, after just three months, MRI scans revealed the tumour was growing, forcing a drastic and urgent change in care.
In January 2010, Todd underwent an extremely risky brain surgery to obtain a biopsy. Ellen described the agonising wait during the operation and the devastation when a consultant—accompanied by a nurse, a detail Ellen immediately recognised as bad news—delivered the results: the tumour was indeed malignant, altering the family’s life forever.
From that point, Todd’s ordeal escalated with 85 weeks of punishing chemotherapy, leaving him exhausted and causing the much-feared loss of his distinctive spiky blond hair. Ellen recalls the emotional pain of watching her “confident son fall to pieces over the loss of his hair”, as Todd became self-conscious and refused to leave the house or even open the curtains.
Desperate to help Todd regain some comfort and confidence, Ellen bought him a sports bandana. The simple gesture transformed Todd’s outlook, allowing him to reclaim some normality and even sparking conversations about his “cool” new look, rather than his illness. Realising the impact, Ellen and her husband Simon went on to establish Bandanas for the Brave, a charity offering free bandanas to young people undergoing cancer treatment.
The charity has since supported children in over 25 hospitals across the UK and even abroad, offering practical and emotional support during unbearably difficult circumstances. For Ellen, the gesture of a bandana is a small but important act that helps families feel less alone during a whirlwind of hospital appointments and treatments.
Today, Todd, now a young man, still carries the burden of his tumour, though he is cancer-free and monitored with biennial scans. He has joined the Bandanas for the Brave team as a trustee, using his experience to help others and provide hope to families facing similar struggles. Ellen describes Todd as “one of the bravest boys I know”, having endured not just his own illness, but the loss of friends to cancer—a tragedy that has shaped his compassion and strength.
The Vance family’s story stands as a powerful reminder of the difference that early intervention, community support, and courageous advocacy can make in the lives of children battling serious illness. Their work through Bandanas for the Brave continues to offer encouragement, confidence and solidarity to others on their own journeys through childhood cancer.