SPORTS-mad Tom Lanham has been through a few battles – and he has emerged from them all a hero to his family.

The nine-year-old from Hamworthy in Poole is battling a rare and aggressive brain cancer and it is taking huge courage to face the gruelling treatment involved.

His courage has now been recognised by Cancer Research UK, which has awarded the Lytchett Matravers schoolboy a Little Star Award.

Tom, who loves cricket, football and swimming, was diagnosed in July 2006.

He had surgery to remove most of the tumour but he also needed intensive radiotherapy twice a day for six weeks on his head and spine to remove the rest.

His mum Sarah said: “He was so ill after that tough treatment, I wondered what I had put him through but because of the cancer we needed to hit it hard.”

Tom then underwent a year of chemotherapy, which finished in October last year.

A recent scan confirmed Tom is doing well, but is not clear, and he continues to rely on steroids and other medication to maintain his progress, which still leaves him feeling unwell.

The treatment has also left him with cataracts which will need an operation. He will have to undergo a course of growth hormone injections.

His dad, Tim, said: “The challenges facing Tom did not stop when the treatment finished. He has been very poorly from the treatment itself.

“Before he had cancer, Tom was so confident and active. It has changed his personality. Even Tom says ‘I wish I could have the old Tom back’.”

Tom, who has a sister, Emily, aged six, was diagnosed just weeks after his mum, Sarah, took part in the Cancer Research UK Race for Life in memory of her mum, Marg Dennis, from Kingston, Dorset, who died from breast cancer. Sarah said: “Although we have been dealt difficult cards we still count our blessings. Both my parents have had cancer and my mum died from cancer, but when it is your children it is much harder to cope.”

Many people have rallied around the Lanham family, including Spurs and former Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp, who visited Tom at his home and made him a special guest at the Portsmouth and Manchester United game. He had the chance to meet the players and have his photograph taken with his hero Cristiano Ronaldo. Nominating Tom for the Little Star Award, which is supported by TK Maxx, Sarah wrote: “He has been so brave and continues to be so. He has gone through so much where adults would have given up. He's given us support and made us laugh when we have been at some of our lowest points. “He’s my hero, I'm so very proud of him.”

  • To nominate a Little Star visit cancerresearchuk.org/littlestar or call 0113 263 6495. The awards are open to all under-17s who have cancer or have been treated for the disease in the last five years.