Teenage girl, 13, with a sore throat was suspected to have tonsillitis but was battling LEUKAEMIA for a YEAR and it took six visits to a GP before she was diagnosed

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The family of a teenage girl who thought she had tonsillitis for a year has been left devastated after discovering that she actually has leukaemia.

Schoolgirl Ayisha Green also lost half her body weight and her parents then suspected an eating disorder.

She visited her GP six times before she was finally diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.

The 13-year-old is now being treated at Manchester Children's Hospital, where she has just begun her second round of chemotherapy.

Ayisha now urgently needs a life-saving bone marrow transplant. 

Stepfather James said: 'Ayisha's on chemotherapy and feels a bit sick obviously, but usually she's in really good spirits.'

Schoolgirl Ayisha Green was suspected on having inflammation of the tonsils for a year

When she lost half her body weight her family then suspected she had an eating disorder

Mother Jayne, 40, said the condition is 'treatable' but Ayisha now urgently needs a life-saving bone marrow transplant.

She now wants to make other parents aware of the condition.

She said: 'We thought it was tonsillitis. The last time she had it was in May and we noticed she was losing weight really rapidly. My partner thought she might have an eating disorder.'

Mother Jayne was shocked by the diagnosis

They were completely shocked to be told she had acute myeloid leukemia, cancer of the white blood cells which affected around 2,600 people in the UK each year.

This type progresses rapidly and aggressively, and usually requires immediate treatment

Ayisha has acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive cancer of the myeloid cells

Am I going to lose my hair? 

Jayne took her daughter to Blackpool Victoria Hospital for a blood test on June 18.

The following day her diagnosis was confirmed and Ayisha was transferred to Manchester Children's Hospital.

Motherof-three Jayne, who lives with her daughter in Blackpool, Lancashire, said: 'It was so shocking.

'The first thing she said was "am I going to lose my hair?" and I said "yes".

'I suffer from alopecia so I wear a wig, and she said we could go wig-shopping together.

'I thought she would be upset and crying but she just took it really well.

'All the kids that are in Manchester Hospital are so resilient, it's unbelievable. The children are just so strong.'

Waiting for a bone marrow match 

The family are waiting on tender hooks to find out if Ayisha's older brothers Joshua, 17, and Connor, 16, are a possible match.

If not, they hope a donor might be just around the corner.

Jayne said: 'My oldest son is 17 and him and Ayisha have always been a bit like chalk and cheese – but since the diagnosis they have become much closer.

'It's definitely brought the children together.

The 13-year-old pictured with her brothers Joshua (left) and Connor (right) and stepfather James when they were younger

'We're still waiting at the moment and it can be up to two weeks before we find out if one of them is a match, but we know there are other donors out there.

'We thought she was just going to need the chemotherapy and that we would be OK, but within 10 minutes of being told she was responding well to the chemotherapy we were told she would need a transplant.

'It could be another eight weeks until she can get out and spend a week or two at home, and then she'll come back for more treatment.'

'My family have been very supportive' says Ayisha who is undergoing chemotherapy

Warning for others 

Ayisha, who is continuing her school studies from her hospital bed, said: 'When I went to see my local GP she said it was tonsillitis but we didn't think it was because it reoccurred so quickly.

'Then I lost a lot of weight. I would take one bite and then I wasn't hungry. I lost about half my body weight.

'My family have been very supportive.

'Even though me and my brother don't get on, when he found out he cried and I thought I was going to cry at that point.'

Jayne added: 'I want to let everyone know, if your children are coming down with an infection and it's always the same thing, it might be a sign of something more serious.

'You can see a doctor but it's not every day they take a blood test, which is how we found out about Ayisha.

'Leukaemia can often show itself through tonsillitis because it affects the immune system.

'The prognosis is that it's treatable and they are giving her all the treatment she needs.

'There's a chance it could reoccur but we will cross that bridge if we get to it.'