NINE YEAR OLD GIRL'S 'PULLED MUSCLE' TURNS OUT TO BE CANCER

A nine year old girl nearly lost her leg after doctors initially misdiagnosed her bone cancer as a pulled muscle. Brave nine-year-old Hannah Baker was left in agony as a 22cm tumour grew on her left leg, but was told it was just a sports injury after visiting her GP. Two weeks later when the pain got worse, her concerned parents Paul, 36, and Shim, 35, rushed her back to her doctor who recommended an x-ray of the youngster's leg, which revealed the huge tumour on her femur. Mum Shim believes had the tumour not been caught early in April this year, it could have proved fatal. She said: “Hannah had been doing lots of sports and complained that her leg was aching. "She didn’t compete in the school cross country and I noticed as she walked back from watching it she was moving strangely.... SEE HOTSPOT COPY 0121 551 1004 “I picked her up to put her in my lap and she screamed. "The doctor and us thought she had just pulled a muscle and we went away with painkillers. "It was just luck we found it and acted so quickly but we never thought for a moment it could be cancer. "We went back two weeks later and the GP suggested we go for an X-ray to be on the safe side. “Three hours later Hannah and I were told they had found a tumour. In two weeks we had gone from having a healthy little girl to her having cancer. "We were left numb and speechless. "We thought we're going to wake up in a minute from all this but we just had to stay strong and be there for each other." Hannah’s older sister Emily, 11, and the family from Clee St Margaret, Shropshire, were distraught as they awaited to find out how badly the osteosarcoma tumour had grown. After a nervous few weeks (how many weeks?) of chemotherapy Hannah’s treatment was successful but she faced losing the leg altogether.

Other great stories
FISH FIGHT

FINALLY catching a meal, a pair of great white egrets fight over their dinner .

UNDERWATER DIVING DOGS

WITH A STERN look of determination on their faces, these adorable pooches perfect their doggy paddle as they dive head first into a swimming pool .

THE DOCTOR WON'T SEE YOU NOW

ONCE A doctor’s surgery, family home and office, an array of medical equipment is scattered throughout this abandoned home .

MONKEY BUSINESS

GETTING behind the camera, this monkey practices his photography skills on his friends .

HITCHHIKING BIRDS

LINED up one by one on a deer’s back, these little birds give their wings a break as they catch a ride across London .

TEEN DANCER ROBBED OF TALENTS AFTER SCOLIOSIS SURGERY

A scoliosis sufferer was heartbroken to learn surgery would stop her dancing - but she battled through the pain to complete her GCSE dance exams and earn A* .

MICK JAGGER'S LUXURY GLASTO YURT

FEAST your eyes onthe £3K luxury yurts that rock legend Mick Jagger will be basking in between Glastonbury performances this weekend .

WOMAN DESPERATE TO LOOK LIKE CHERYL COLE OVERCOMES ANOREXIA

A woman who starved herself to look like Cheryl Cole has told how she shrunk to just under 5st 13lbs after developing anorexia .

GRAVEYARDS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

From the tails of fighter planes to black and white checked buildings, graveyards take different and unusual forms around the world .

KILLED BY MAKE-UP - TRAGIC 18th CENTURY CELEB'S MIRROR AUCTIONED

She was the 18th century celebrity who made men faint in awe of her beauty by her very presence .

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE BUG KIND

THIS alien-like bug would look more at home in outer-space but it can actually be found wriggling around here on Earth .

WOMAN’S SICK NEIGHBOUR SEXUALLY ABUSED HER FROM AGED NINE IN BROAD DAYLIGHT – WHEN SHE BRAVELY REPORTED HIM, SIX OTHERS CAME FORWARD

Kaitlin pictured aged nine - Heart pounding, Kaitlin Womack stared in shock at a Facebook post on her phone .