The family’s life was turned upside down in May 2025 when Hayden-Lilly was diagnosed with a sarcoma (cancer that starts in the bone or soft tissue), which has spread to her lungs.
Hayden-Lilly Button, 14, lives with her Mum, Ann-Marie, Dad, Ryan, foster brother Dylan, 11, and dog, Teddy, in Rhydyfelin, Pontypridd, near Cardiff. She has an older brother called Steele, who’s 26. Their fostering social worker, Joanne Duddridge, is running two half marathons for Latch, including the Cardiff Half Marathon in October 2025. The family plan to fundraise for Latch so more people can benefit from the kind of support they have received from us. Here, they both share their stories and how Latch has helped.
Hayden-Lilly’s story
When I was diagnosed, everything just stopped for me, but it felt like everyone else just kept going as they were before.
Getting diagnosed
I was never ill before I found out I had cancer. I guess I’m still not ill from the cancer itself. It all started with my mum plaiting my hair. That’s when she noticed a small lump on my back. The following morning we went to the doctor and they told us it was a cyst. It kept growing so we went back. They GP insisted it was a cyst. I felt like we wasn’t being listened to. I wanted it off my back because, if I wore certain clothes, or my hair up, you could see the lump. I felt self-conscious so I’d wear my hair down.
The lump continued to grow so my mum took me back to the doctors and insisted that something was done as I was now experiencing tingling and numbness in my fingers. I was told that was down to anxiety and was given breathing exercises to do. My mum wasn’t happy so, that day, she took me to A and E.
The doctor there saw me and, within the hour, I had scans and a biopsy. Later, we were asked to come onto Rocket Ward at the Children’s Hospital for Wales in Cardiff. When we walked onto the ward, I asked mum ‘Does this mean I have cancer?’ and she said ‘I think it does’. This is how I found out.
When the doctor told us it was a sarcoma, I was upset. I didn’t know much about cancer, apart from that you lose your hair which I was worried about. I was disappointed and maybe angry that we knew about it on my back for so long but no one had done anything.
Intense treatment
The intense chemotherapy started that same week. It gave me sores on my hands and I had mucositis, so all my mouth was burnt and it affected my taste buds. I lost all my hair which was hard. You have to go through a pain ladder, which started with paracetamol, and it took forever to get the pain relief you need.
In hospital, I was always attached to something so I couldn't really walk around. I didn’t like sleeping there as people come in every 15 minutes. Mum was able to stay with me, which I wanted, but, sometimes, it got too much being together all the time. Especially when I was on steroids, which make me get really agitated.
Hayley at Latch helps us with lots of things. It’s nice to know that she is there for my Mum if she needs to speak to someone. Hayley helped me to get my bespoke hair (or wig) and my wish for a trip to London for a shopping spree through the charity Dreams and Wishes. My immune system is low so I haven’t been able to go yet, but when we do, we’re going for three days and to the London Dungeons and the Tower of London.
Out of hospital
It wasn't really a hard decision to stop the intense chemotherapy because I knew I didn't want to sleep in the hospital anymore. I knew that, at some point, the chemotherapy was going to stop working. It's good that I'm sleeping in my house every night now, and to see my dog again as I missed him. I feel more normal.
I still have side effects from my new chemotherapy but nowhere near as many, and my mum manages them at home. I had 25 sessions of radiotherapy which burnt my back. My hands and feet get really sore and I have irritation under my arms. I have joint pain when I’m walking down the stairs, and my taste buds go funny which isn’t nice because I love food. I'm lucky I’ve got my best friend and cousin because you really do lose friends when you have cancer and it’s hard.
When I went back to school, I was embarrassed when friends asked to look at my ‘extensions’ when they knew my hair was a wig. So I stopped going to school. The wig I have is quite thick so I’m getting a new one and then going to go back to school as much as I can.
Fundraising and the future
I feel good about Joanne, our fostering social worker, raising money for Latch through the half marathons that she is doing. Latch help young people like me. I’d like to see them spend the money we raise on providing more entertainment for older children. Like paying for a PlayStation, Xbox or Wii for the playroom on the ward.
I’d like to be able to fundraise for them but can’t do anything active so I hope sharing my story helps. I haven’t thought too much about the future I just take one day at a time, but I just don’t want to have cancer anymore.”
I felt desperate so I drove Hayden-Lilly to A and E. She had a scan and a biopsy within an hour of us being there. By the time we got the diagnosis that it was a sarcoma, on 5 May 2025, the lump was 8cm by 8cm and six weeks had passed. As well as being in shock, I was upset. As strange as it sounds, I was relieved when we got the diagnosis because people were finally listening and that had been a battle.
Support from Latch
We were admitted the day we got the diagnosis and Hayden-Lilly started aggressive chemotherapy within a couple of days. I work in a school and had put in a leave of absence to take Hayden-Lilly to the hospital appointment, and I basically didn’t go back to work after that. Hayley helped me with putting in a sick paper for work and writing to Hayden-Lilly’s school. She sorted out the parking ticket we got when we went in for the first meeting and another we received after six days of chemotherapy.
Hayley also filled in the Disability Living Allowance forms and helped with getting a Blue Badge. I didn't have to think about anything to do with it. It's nice for Hayden-Lily to know that, if I need to speak to somebody, I can ring Hayley who has been amazing.
While Hayden-Lilly was in hospital, I would go up to the Latch Home from Home accommodation for a few hours while she called her friends and had a catch up. She is a typical teenager and wasn’t used to me being around her 24/7. I’d also go up to the kitchen in Latch and make Hayden-Lilly food that she liked. The kitchen on the ward was stocked by Latch with tea, coffee and sugar, along with lots of other food. Latch also provide you with your own fridge, freezer and lockable cupboard so you can store your own food.
There’ a laundry room in the accommodation that is equipped with washing powder and conditioner. This was handy as, sometimes, we were there for days on end and it saved me travelling home. There was shampoo, conditioner and toothpaste in the accommodation which was helpful as I’d pack for Hayden and, more often than not, forget something for myself.
The accommodation allowed me a space to retreat when things became too overwhelming and I needed a good cry or to call someone. I would try my best not to cry in front of Hayden-Lilly. Latch provided the parents on the ward with an afternoon of relaxation where I had my first taste of reflexology. They provided Hayden with an IPad. This is something they give everyone to help the long days in hospital more bearable .
Hayden-Lilly has been having reiki since she was diagnosed and Latch offered to pay towards her sessions. It has been really beneficial for her and she has regular sessions. Latch have included Dylan in the support they’ve provided. For example, we all went to the summer party which had unicycles, plate spinning and a cotton candy machine.
They've just been there really which has blown us away. I never knew what they were and how much they do for people. My pay has been halved, and we are fortunate because Ryan works. But if I had I been a single parent, I don't know what I would have done.
Prognosis
We don’t think too far ahead. We just get through one day at a time. Hayden-Lilly made the brave decision to swap her chemotherapy for a less intense one, which means she doesn’t have to stay in hospital anymore unless she spikes a temperature.
The cancer has metastasized to her lungs. She's got eight nodules and they can only remove six. We have been given the devastating news that it’s incurable. If only we’d caught it sooner, it might have been different which is hard for me as a mother because I took her 3 times to the doctors. I will always wish I had gone to A and E sooner.
The chemotherapy Hayden-Lilly is having now is expected to hold the cancer for a bit until it will eventually break through. I will not give up researching, praying and fighting this.
Support for Latch
It’s lovely that Joanne, my supervising social worker for the foster care that I do, is raising money for Latch through two half marathons. Ryan and my older son Steele would also like to do some fundraising for Latch to help other families. Hayden-Lilly wants to help too.
There was a young girl on the ward whose cancer had come back and she was having aggressive chemotherapy. She had mucositis, which Hayden-Lilly has had. Hayden-Lilly went out and bought the girl pyjamas, lip salve and a fan out of her own money. She said she knows what it felt like to have mucositis and be stuck in hospital.
We see about five or six new families a month come on to the ward at the Children’s Hospital for Wales in Cardiff. This is bigger than I ever thought it was and I just want everyone to be aware.
If you’ve got a gut feeling about your child, ask for a second or third opinion, or take them to A and E. Also be kind to people going through cancer treatment. It’s not just a case of losing your hair. There's so much more to it than that.
We would appreciate any donation to Latch, no matter how small. The battles these children face before they even reach adulthood is something else. Hayden-Lilly would love to work with Latch to help support other young people. Who better to help someone than someone going through it themselves.”
