In June 2025 Erin was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, a rare bone tumour, leading to an immediate referral to University College London Hospital (UCLH) for treatment.
Over the next eight months, Erin underwent 14 cycles of chemotherapy and six weeks of proton beam therapy, spending weeks and weeks in hospital, often very unwell.
Erin’s Mum Helen said, “When you receive a cancer diagnosis, life comes to a grinding halt overnight. Erin went from a creative, sporty, dance-loving 12 year old to spending all of her time sick in hospital or recovering at home and isolated from friends and family.
“Meeting the Spread a Smile team at UCLH was amazing for Erin. She loved the singers and music and was always trying to work out how the magicians did the magic tricks. The entertainer visits were a welcome and lovely reprieve from the medical reality of cancer and being in hospital.
“The ward Play Specialists encouraged us to the Spread a Smile Summer Party and even though Erin was hesitant at first, she absolutely loved it. There was entertainment and singing and we got to talk to some of the entertainers about the theatre trips the charity did. This led us to an outing with Spread a Smile to see Wicked in the West End and afterwards Erin didn’t stop singing the songs for a week.
“During her treatment, Erin spent the first three months unable to walk and it was so hard for her not being able to dance and express herself creatively. We reached out to Spread a Smile and signed Erin up for singing lessons every other week.
“Although shy when she first started, by the end she was so confident and happy – she absolutely loved them. No matter how unwell she was or where she was, she would never miss an opportunity for a singing lesson with Spread a Smile. When in hospital, the nurses would just work around her as they knew how important they were for her.
“During her cancer treatment, Erin had so little control over her own life. Everything was about the next medical steps – chemo, pain management, medical plans, physio and more. But in her singing lessons with Spread a Smile, Erin had control and she could make her own choices. The entertainers brought such a lovely, positive and friendly energy, encouraging her in her choices and helping her find her voice. It made a huge difference, and her confidence has grown massively because of it.
“As a parent to a child living with cancer, your world becomes very small. You are responsible for everything – from making sure they eat the right foods, to taking medicines, doing the right exercises, keeping up with appointments and trying to keep they happy and entertained. Finding Spread a Smile meant we could find the fun, giving Erin a creative outlet and time to enjoy herself and me time to enjoy watching her. That 45 minutes of lightness and music made our heavy world so much lighter.
“Cancer took away dance from Erin but Spread a Smile have helped to fill that creative gap with singing and music. Now that Erin is back at school, Erin has been left with a love of singing and has decided she wants to do music GCSE and work towards grades. Spread a Smile have helped to firmly establish singing as part of her creative future, giving her something positive and wonderful to take forward as she recovers. And that’s a truly amazing gift.”