YOUNG cancer patient Jamie Inglis is looking forward to starting school in the New Year after returning to York following revolutionary treatment in America.

When Jamie, five, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma cancer in 2009, doctors said it was so advanced he stood less than a 30 per cent chance of surviving.

But his parents, John, 38, and Vicky, 35, were determined to improve the odds – and appealed to readers of The Press to help them raise the £250,000 they needed to send their son to Philadelphia for pioneering antibody treatment.

By the end of the treatment, the costs had spiralled to £400,000, but money continued to pour in from well-wishers across the world.

Vicky said: “At the beginning I thought, a quarter of a million pounds, oh my goodness! But then the money started to come in and suddenly it was ‘yes, we can do this’.

“We were totally overwhelmed by how people here just took to Jamie’s story and wanted to do something to help. It has been incredible and we can’t say a big enough thank you.”

The treatment has so far proved successful and, Jamie, who has a 17-month-old sister, Poppy, is officially cancer-free.

His family enjoyed Christmas together at their new home in Fulford, York, close to Imphal Barracks, where his dad, an Army staff sergeant, is now working, after being posted back to the UK from Germany.

Vicky said: “My main aim for Jamie now is to get him into school to start socialising with children of his own age because he must be so fed of me. He always says to me ‘mummy, you talk too much’.”

But Vicky and John are also desperate to help other families experiencing the same nightmare.

Vicky said: “Jamie has had the best possible treatment available in the world for neuroblastoma cancer, but some families are not able to access it like we did and that is sickening.

“If it wasn’t for the generosity of people in York and Germany we may not be in this position. They have made a difference to Jamie’s life and we want to give something back by raising awareness of neuroblastoma cancer.

“The UK doesn’t have a protocol for relapses of neuroblastoma even though there is a 60 per cent chance of a relapse if the child doesn’t have the antibody treatment that is available in America. It should be available here in the UK.”