THE family of a five-year-old boy suffering from a rare form of aggressive cancer is trying to raise the money to give him a life-saving treatment.

They could be forced to travel to America if his disease does not respond to treatments in the UK.

Jacob Marsland, of Kingsmead, was given a 20 per cent chance of survival after being diagnosed with Neuroblastoma in March and has not responded to chemotherapy.

A 15cm tumour is sitting next to his spine and the cancer has already spread to almost all of his bones.

Father Anthony Marsland, 42, said there is one last possible treatment available in the UK called MIBG that involves injecting a highly radioactive chemical into the bones.

If that fails, a £200,000 treatment in America, called 3F8 antibody treatment, is the last chance little Jacob has of survival.

"He's had very intensive chemotherapy just to give him a chance but his cancer is aggressive. He's having a final scan on Thursday to see if this course has managed to do anything but it's unlikely. Doctors think he's getting resistant to the chemo. It would take a miracle for it to have cleared," he said.

"In the UK they have agreed treatment plans and once all options have been used, that's it, they can't do anything else.

"And if he does manage to get to remission, there is a 70 per cent chance it will come back and doctors here won't do anything else for him then.

"That's why we are getting prepared and looking to the future now.

"I've been speaking to a woman from London whose son has the same disease and went to the US to have the treatment and he's doing ok but their medical bill is already at $1million.

"We have to have hope, the odds are pretty slim but we've got to keep going. You get knock backs but you have to be positive otherwise you would crack up."

If detected in babies under 12 months, the childhood cancer is usually treatable but the older the child, the lower the chances.

"We have been told that the cancer is formed at birth so for children Jake's age, the prognosis gets worse.

"Only 100 children a year are diagnosed with this cancer so we've been unlucky to say the least."

Jacob's illness was diagnosed after he started limping and complaining of pains in his legs in January. Doctors at first could not find what was wrong but finally his tumour was discovered at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool.

Anthony and mother Nicky, 37, had their worlds turned upside down from that minute on.

"We were totally devastated, it's difficult to put into words how we felt," said Anthony.

"It's like being in a horror movie, that's the only way to describe it. It's the worse thing you could think off.

"We were in total shock and disbelief. We thought there must have been a mistake, its something that you think only happens to other people but we just have to get on with it and cope with it."

Despite his illness, Jacob lives as normal life as possible and loves to play with 14-month-old brother Ben.

"Ben's his tonic," Anthony said. "Jake knows he's poorly and we've mentioned the word cancer to him but he doesn't know what his situation is.

"We just want to keep him happy and positive.

"It's not really an issue for him, it's just something that's part of him.

"Apart from his hair loss, to look at him you wouldn't know he was ill. He seems like any other young lad yet his little bones are full of cancer and that's what's most upsetting."

Northwich Fire Service has already pledged its support and will be holding a charity car wash on Saturday from 10am to 4pm at the station off London Road, Davenham.

If you would like to help with fundraising or simply make a donation, call Frances Kindon on 01606 813621.