SIX-YEAR-OLD Carys King will be stepping onto Bournemouth seafront on Sunday to raise funds for a cause very close to her heart.

The Stourfield School pupil will be walking the 5km Race for Life with her mother Carolyn Owen-King and grandmother Jean Owen, 75, in aid of Cancer Research UK.

The world was turned upside down in August last year when Carys’s younger brother Rhys was diagnosed with Wilms’ – a rare form of childhood cancer.

At just three years old, Rhys underwent an operation to remove a tumour and his kidney and endured nine months of gruelling chemotherapy.

He also had to be fed through a tube for around six months because he couldn’t face eating.

A spot of cancer had been detected on his lung but that appears to have gone.

While the scans are clear and treatment has finished, Rhys regularly attends hospital for checks.

Carolyn told the Echo that Rhys’s cancer was discovered by Carys when she noticed he had passed blood in his urine.

“She said he had red wee so we took him to the doctors. His wee was only that colour for one day so had Carys not noticed we probably wouldn’t have known until the tumour was coming out of his tummy. By then it could have spread.”

Carolyn, 46, of Beaufort Road, Southbourne, said the family have received tremendous support from friends and it is hoped Rhys will be able to start school in September with his peers.

Carolyn said: “Our story has hopefully ended well, but spending time in the world of children’s cancer has changed our attitude to life. It is so difficult for a parent and grandparent to face this sort of devastation.”

She added: “Race for Life is really important to us this year, not just for me and my mum but for Carys as well. She is very aware of what we have all been through. She has coped amazingly well and she feels she needs to do something.”

You can sponsor Carys, Carolyn and Jean by visiting raceforlifespon sorme.org/carolynking0910