A mother whose three-year-old daughter was first thought to have hand, foot and mouth disease before being diagnosed with a rare liver cancer has said the news “just broke (her)”.
Charley Hocking, 37, said her daughter Primrose, three, was initially diagnosed with hand, foot and mouth disease – a common childhood illness – in October 2025 after having a high temperature, rashes, spots and mouth ulcers.
Primrose’s condition did not improve, and when, one day, she suddenly stopped urinating, her GP advised Charley to take her to hospital.
After examination, doctors discovered a lump in her abdomen and an area of abnormal tissue known as a lesion. By mid-December she was diagnosed with hepatoblastoma, a rare childhood liver cancer.
According to The Royal Marsden, hepatoblastoma usually presents as a lump in the stomach and about 10 to 15 children develop the condition in the UK each year.
Charley said doctors initially thought Primrose had hand, foot and mouth disease (Collect/PA Real Life)
Primrose started chemotherapy just days before Christmas and she has since had 40% of her liver removed, with all of the tumour successfully being taken out.
Charley, who runs a cleaning business and lives in East Sussex, told PA Real Life: “It was the worst moment of my life, them telling me she had cancer.
“Even though doctors said she’s got a good prognosis, you can’t help but think the worst when you hear the word cancer and it completely broke me.
“Now, because of her weakened immune system, I’m constantly thinking, ‘Is that clean? Does that need to be cleaned?’
“I’ve got that constant worry in my head that she’s going to get ill.
Charley and Primrose (Collect/PA Real Life)
“If we go out, it’s in the countryside and we don’t go to parks with other kids in them.
“She’s always in the buggy – she struggles to walk very far because her legs can be so weak.”
At the end of October 2025, Charley said Primrose’s GP believed she had hand, foot and mouth disease due to her having spots on the affected areas, as well as mouth ulcers, body rashes, and a high temperature.
It is a common childhood illness, typically characterised by a sore throat, mouth ulcers and raised spots on the hands and feet, according to the NHS.
By late November of the same year, Primrose continued to have a high temperature “sporadically” and, despite eating and drinking as normal, one day she did not urinate at all.
Charley said doctors found a lump in Primrose’s abdomen (Collect/PA Real Life)
On November 26, Charley took her back to the GP, who advised that she be taken to the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton and Hove.
While there, Charley said Primrose’s heart rate and blood pressure were normal.
However, when doctors examined her, pressing firmly on her abdomen, they discovered a lump.
At the time, doctors suggested it could be an inflamed liver, but blood test results came back as “abnormal” and an ultrasound revealed a lesion which could be cancerous.
From November 26 to December 15, Primrose remained in hospital under observation while specialists from the hospital, as well as from The Royal Marsden and King’s College Hospital, met to discuss the case, as Charley said they believed her blood work was “pointing towards a rare type of cancer”.
On November 28, an MRI scan revealed Primrose had a lesion measuring 7.4cm x 6.4cm x 8.5cm.
Primrose started chemotherapy just days before Christmas 2025 (Collect/PA Real Life)
On December 17, she had a biopsy at King’s College Hospital, and on December 19 Charley received a phone call informing her that Primrose had hepatoblastoma, a cancerous tumour of the liver.
Charley said: “It was strangely relieving because we finally found out what it was and we could go forward with the treatment plan.”
After receiving the diagnosis, Charley decided she wanted to be “open and honest” with Primrose and her other daughter, Holly-May, 10.
She continued: “I explained it to both of them and there were actually no frightened faces, I don’t think they’ve ever really been scared because I’ve explained it so well to them.”
On December 22, Primrose had her first round of chemotherapy over three days at The Royal Marsden hospital in London.
Charley said doctors have since been able to remove all of Primrose’s tumour (Collect/PA Real Life)
Charley said she did not experience any severe side effects and was able to return home for Christmas Day.
Since then, Primrose has had chemotherapy once every 13 days – however, it has caused her to lose her appetite and feel nauseous and tired.
Charley said Primrose’s immune system is weakened and she avoids taking her to busy places as she is “scared to expose her to germs”.
Charley said the particular type of chemotherapy she is receiving carries a risk of damaging her hearing, kidneys and heart lining, and Primrose is one of the only children in the UK to try a new trial drug focused on reducing hearing loss.
She had the treatment on March 24, with her last hearing test on February 5 coming back “perfect”, but she is awaiting more tests.
Primrose in hospital after having liver surgery (Collect/PA Real Life)
On March 31, after five rounds of chemotherapy, an MRI revealed the tumour had shrunk to 3.7cm x 3.5cm x 6cm, leaving Charley feeling “so relieved and over the moon”.
In April, Primrose developed an infection in her double Hickman line, a tube through which she received chemotherapy, and she required an emergency operation on April 17 to have a cannula fitted instead.
On April 23, she had surgery to remove 40% of her liver, which managed to remove all of the tumour.
Charley added: “It all went to plan and the surgeons were extremely happy with how the operation went.
“The tumour was central and covered an area of major vessels, but they managed to peel it all away.”
Primrose’s liver is expected to regenerate in just three weeks (Collect/PA Real Life)
Primrose then spent two days in the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit and the High Dependency Unit, but she is now “continuing recovery” on a ward which specialises in liver patients.
Primrose’s liver is expected to regenerate in just three weeks and she will go on to have three more rounds of chemotherapy to remove any additional cancer cells.
Reflecting on her experience so far, Charley said: “Life is too short for arguments and worrying about the small things, it just makes you appreciate what you have in life and treasure your kids even more.
“I am deeply proud of how far we’ve come and how incredibly strong my children are.
Primrose will need three more rounds of chemotherapy (Collect/PA Real Life)
“We’ve exciting things to come and this has taught me to cherish every moment of life as it is so precious.
“Challenges only refine and strengthen us and no matter what happens, I can handle it.
“I’d like to thank, from the bottom of my heart, all the teams at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital, The Royal Marsden and the King’s College Hospital for their incredible care of Primrose.”
Charley has set up a GoFundMe to help raise money to give her daughters “the best holiday ever”, hoping to go somewhere “nice and hot” with the “best water parks and children’s entertainment”.
To donate, visit: www.gofundme.com/f/help-make-my-daughters-wishes-come-true.