A TEENAGER who has spent more than a year battling cancer rang the end-of-treatment bell with such gusto it broke off in her hand. 

There was shouts of laughter from well wishers as Evie Grover, 14, celebrated the end of her 13-month ordeal in style.

Evie has been given the all-clear - but not before a traumatic year of chemotherapy and surgery to remove a tumour in her arm with the situation made even more daunting by the Covid pandemic.

Evie's mum Sarah said: "In February 2020 she was diagnosed with a tumour in the humerus bone in her arm.

"It was discovered the tumour had gone from her shoulder to her elbow and she started chemo a couple of weeks before lockdown."

Because of the rules on hospital visiting, Evie could only have one person with her at a time during her trips to Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

It means she missed out on a lot of the social elements of being in hospital and the chance to make friends with other patients.

Mrs Grover added: "Lockdown made things really hard because only one person could go with her.

"We were told a lot by the hospital about how she could make friends on the ward and have pizza parties, but obviously with the lockdown we couldn't do any of these.

"It is strange because having not experienced them before, we can't really say if we missed them or not."

In addition to chemotherapy, doctors had to operate on the bone in Evie's arm and remove the infected parts.

This means she has had a new shoulder in the process of her treatment.

Evie and her family have since thanked staff for their care.

Mrs Grover said: "She was referred to the county's best surgeon who has given her a new shoulder as well as a replacement joint.

"We can’t express enough how grateful we are to the amazing oncology team at Worcester hospital - nurse specialist Dawn Forbes, Dr Baylon Kamalarajan and all the many fantastic nurses and play specialists on Riverbank ward and in clinic who have helped Evie through the past 13 months.

Evie, from Evesham, has now completed the rest of her additional treatment, with her mum Sarah, dad Rob and brother Finn all hoping to put a nightmare year behind them.

On her last day in hospital, April 20, staff made her a cake and turned two hospital beds into the sofa from Friends to make the day all the more special.

Mrs Grover said: "They pulled out all the stops on Evie’s last day of treatment, to make it the most fun time ever - dressing up as Friends characters and singing to us and presenting Evie with the most delicious end of treatment cake, which Evie designed and they had made especially for her.

"It was such a special way to end the toughest of years."

“She is still managing to smile, despite everything she was going through.

"This sums Evie up really.

"Awesomely positive, resilient and determined to get through all this and jump over every hurdle that was put in her way.

"Our superhero.”