Deryn Blackwell was diagnosed with leukaemia back in 2010 when he was just 10 years old. A year later, he was then diagnosed with a second cancer, the extremely rare Langerhans cell sarcoma. So rare, that only five people in the world currently have it.
The fact that he had both of these cancers simultaneously made him truly unique, no-one else had ever been found to have them at the same time.
He started treatment, but after four years - nothing was working.
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Deryn's condition was steadily getting worse, and doctors said that if there was no improvement in a fortnight, he would be placed in palliative care.
It was around this time that his parents, Callie and Simon, decided to look into cannabis painkillers. They'd heard about Bedrocan, but it wasn't available in the UK. Doctors said that it might be helpful, but as it hadn't been tested on kids they couldn't prescribe it.
They decided to take matters into their own hands and find cannabis themselves.
Callie wrote in her new book, The Boy In 7 Billion: "We took a decision that will horrify many parents reading this - and horrified me, too.
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"After all, I'd never seen anything positive come of smoking cannabis, and in my days working in nightclubs, illegal drugs had been my enemy.
"But if it could help my darling boy escape his daily torment, I was willing to try it."
Simon arranged to meet someone at a petrol station to pick up. They then bought a rice cooker and vegetable glycerine, and made the 'tincture' suitable for a vaporise pen.
Callie said: "After ten minutes, Deryn said that the pain had decreased a little and he felt more relaxed - the words we had been longing to hear".
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However, his pain came back and in 2013 he had moved into a hospice where he started planning his own funeral.
His mum continued: "Over the coming days, my priority was allowing him to die with his faculties intact, so whenever Deryn felt a twinge somewhere, I would put another 5ml of the tincture underneath his tongue and, within a few minutes, he felt good again.
"Deryn's mouth, fingers, stomach, gums, tongue, hips, knees, legs and back had been constantly painful for as long as I could remember, so this was nothing short of fantastic."
Suddenly, a hospice doctor informed Callie that they were no longer sure than Deryn was dying.
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Credit: Facebook
Soon, he was removed from the hospice.
She wrote: "There was a direct correlation between Deryn having the cannabis tincture and his improved blood counts. Whenever he didn't have it, they dropped. It was enough hard evidence to suggest that cannabis tincture was playing a vital role in his recovery. I hadn't imagined in my wildest dreams that it could have saved Deryn's life."
She added: "As each day passes, the prospect of cancer returning decreases."
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What an incredible story.
The Boy In 7 Billion, by Callie Blackwell with Karen Hockney, will be published on April 6 by Mirror Books, priced £12.99. You can pre-order at www.mailbookshop.co.uk or call 0844 571 0640
Featured Image Credit: FacebookTopics: Little Lad, Cancer