A PENARTH child who is suffering from cancer has received a top award.

Benjamin O'Doherty, 7, was diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukaemia in October 2015 and is now on maintenance treatment.

Claire O'Doherty, Benjamin's mum, said: “Both Benjamin and Alexander (brother) have been through hell over the last twelve months but we are acting as a normal family again now.

"He has caught up with his school work now and we are enjoying life as we used to.

"This year has a different meaning now – we are going all out and are going to make it as special as possible.

"He will still have treatment until December 2018 or January 2019 so there is a long way still to go, but we are over a year through it now."

Much to the delight of The Llandough Primary School pupil, he was recently presented with the Kids and Teens Star Award.

Ms O'Doherty said: "He loved receiving the Kids & Teens Star Award – he thinks the certificate is great and the trophy is still on our mantelpiece.

“And we really like that there was a certificate for Alexander too – it is hard on the siblings and this goes a long way to help show that they are special too."

The awards are to celebrate the courage of children affected by cancer and recipients get a unique trophy, a £50 TK Maxx gift card and a certificate signed by celebrities.

Alison Birkett, Cancer Research UK Kids & Teens spokesperson for Wales, said: "It is a privilege to be able to recognise the courage of children with cancer with a Star Award and we would like to encourage anyone who knows an inspirational youngster like Benjamin to nominate them now.

"Although we’re losing fewer young lives to cancer, a lot more needs to be done to find new and better treatments.

"And as more children survive cancer, it’s especially important that we concentrate on improving their quality of life after treatment.

"Many children who survive cancer will live with long-term side effects from their treatment which may have an impact on them as adults. So it’s vital that we find treatments that are not only better at treating the cancer but also have fewer side effects."