Two years on since their whirlwind wedding, Emmerdale couple Billy and Dawn Fletcher have been living life on cloud nine, having finalised their adoption of children Lucas and Clemmie and welcoming a brand new baby boy, Evan, just before Christmas. But while their family may finally be complete, the couple will face every parent’s worst nightmare in the coming days, when little Evan is sadly diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, a devastating illness while affects around 10,000 people in the UK every year.
The storyline itself will focus on how Billy and Dawn come to terms with the diagnosis and the toll of treatment, but also on the wider impact of how it affects the rest of their family and the people around them.
According to Leukaemia Care ALL can be diagnosed in a person of any age, but most cases of ALL occur in children (aged 0 to 4 years). They said: "Childhood ALL includes teenagers under 20 years of age. Childhood ALL is an acute leukaemia that develops very quickly. It is caused by too many B-cell and T-cell lymphocytes being produced in the bone marrow. Lymphocytes are white blood cells that help the body fight infections as part of the immune system."
Their website also added that in the UK "the incidence of ALL in children is around 5.1 in every 100,000" and noted that boys have a slightly higher incidence of ALL compared with girls.
"ALL occurs mainly in children with 85% of cases. The remaining 15% of cases are adults aged over 50 years of age. ALL is diagnosed mainly in children between two to five years," the website reads.
And according to medical experts, the most common symptoms in children are fever (high temperature), fatigue (excessive tiredness), easy bruising and bleeding (bleeding from the gums on brushing teeth), swollen liver and/or the spleen, swollen lymph nodes and bone or joint pains.
To determine diagnosis, medical professions follow many tests starting with a full blood count, and treatments can include chemotherapy, stem cell transplant and immunotherapy.
The charity advises that overall prognosis is good provided there is early diagnosis and prompt treatment. "Due to improvements in treatment of ALL in the last 20 years, overall survival for children aged under six years old is now about 90%. Overall survival in adolescents has improved to 70%-80%."
Colin Dyer, CEO at Leukaemia Care commented: “Every year 10,000 people are diagnosed with leukaemia in the UK. A leukaemia diagnosis can affect not just the patient, but also their loved ones such as friends and family.
“The Baby Evan storyline being featured on Emmerdale, is helping to deliver a very important message not just about the awareness of the symptoms and the condition, but about how it affects the family and those around them.”
Ahead of the storyline unfolding on screen, Dawn’s actress Olivia Bromley said: “This is an incredibly challenging and heartbreaking story, but such an important story for Emmerdale to tell. I've learnt so much since working with Leukaemia Care and speaking to parents whose children have been diagnosed, and we want to not only raise awareness but to do justice to the experience of families who are blindsided by a diagnosis like this.”
She continued: “For Dawn and Billy, like many parents, Evan's diagnosis turns their world upside down so unexpectedly. It's been inspiring to hear the stories of strength, resilience and also to hear of the incredible NHS staff who do such invaluable work when parents' are at their lowest, so I hope we can also reflect this as we approach this storyline.”
Throughout the writing and filming process, help and guidance was sought from the charity Leukaemia Care who are working closely with the Emmerdale production team on the storyline to ensure a realistic depiction of life with the illness, while also highlighting the different ways in which it may impact on families.
Discussing the specifics of how exactly the scenes would play out, Emmerdale Producer, Laura Shaw, commented: “Evan's leukaemia diagnosis will come abruptly and without warning for Dawn and Billy, like it does for many parents who find themselves facing this devastating situation.
"Working closely with Leukaemia Care, it's vital to us that we portray this story as accurately and sensitively as possible and do justice to those faced with a diagnosis like this and highlight the severe impact a long term illness like this can have on families lives.”
More information on leukaemia and how to access support can be found at www.leukaemiacare.org.uk , or by calling the freephone helpline 08088 010 444
