Overview
- Frank Cleal, 13, from Hereford, died of osteosarcoma after his only early symptom—a mild limp in April 2019—was initially thought to be a rugby injury.
- GPs first diagnosed a hamstring strain in May 2019 before X‑ray and MRI in June 2019 confirmed a tumour in his right femur.
- Treatment included months of chemotherapy and limb‑sparing surgery to replace his femur with a metal prosthesis, followed by further surgery after spread to his other leg.
- He relapsed with lung metastases in November 2020, underwent lung surgery, and was told his disease was terminal in February 2021.
- The family’s Be More Frank fund within the Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust has raised more than £300,000 for grants across six counties and is backing the You Know Them Best childhood cancer awareness campaign.