Her mum spotted some signs but thought she was ‘being dramatic’
Starting school is a huge milestone for all children – but for one family, their little girl’s first weeks at school came with a devastating discovery. Nina Hinds started in reception at primary school in Peterborough a year ago – but within just a few weeks her mum Sam started to notice some worrying changes.
The family started to worry, but they could have never imagined that just a few tests later Nina would be diagnosed with cancer. Her mum even thought she was ‘being dramatic’ when she took her to see the doctor.
The signs began when Sam noticed large bruises on Nina’s legs, arms and forehead, which she initially thought were normal childhood knocks and bumps. Then, when Nina got an ear infection, she became unusually more tired and pale. Nina’s teacher also raised concerns that she was falling asleep in class,
Sam said: “She just didn’t seem as full of life as she usually is – I couldn’t work out what was wrong with her. I was searching her symptoms and leukaemia kept coming up. But I thought, ‘this doesn’t happen to us, this is what happens to other people’. I thought maybe I was being an overprotective parent and a bit dramatic about it all.”
After Sam took Nina to the GP blood tests confirmed she had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), which is cancer of the white blood cells. Sam said: “You’d think when you get told your child has cancer you would just burst into tears. But it was such a shock I didn’t cry at all. Daniel (Nina’s dad) was the opposite, he fell to the floor.”
Nina was referred to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge and began her treatment on her fifth birthday – October 20, 2025. She underwent eight months of intense treatment and now has maintenance chemotherapy treatment until December 2027.
Despite the struggles of her treatment, Sam said Nina never lost her humour. She said: “It was meant to be her birthday party that weekend and she was sad we had to cancel it. The nurses sang happy birthday to her and she replied: ‘Do I look happy?’”
Although her treatment meant she faced restrictions with school, Nina showed remarkable resilience. Sam said: “She’s a really confident little girl and she’s just got on with it. She’s made friends at school and in hospital and will happily talk to people about her leukaemia.
“Now we just want Nina to complete her treatment with as few complications as possible and go on to live her life like any other child. No relapse, no more chemo.”
Nina is taking part in the AllTogether-1 trial, supported by Cancer Research UK. This investigates how to improve survival for young patients with ALL and reduce the risk of long-term side effects.
Sam thought it was “really important” for Nina to take part. She added: “We felt that if we were able to help children in the future by doing these trials, it was very important, because if other children in the past hadn’t taken part in trials, then Nina wouldn’t be on such a good treatment plan.”
Jose Ramos, Cancer Research UK spokesperson for the East of England said the charity is “grateful” to Nina’s family for sharing her experience. Jose added: “Cancer is different in children and young people – from the types of cancers that affect this age group, to the long-term effects of treatment. So, it needs a different and dedicated approach.
“Thanks to our supporters, we’re driving discoveries, developing new drugs and transforming clinical trials to help accelerate a new generation of more effective and less toxic treatments.
“That’s why we’re urging people across Cambridgeshire to get behind our scientists’ efforts to ensure more children and young people like Nina live longer, better lives free from the fear of cancer.”
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