More than £100,000 raised in memory of a Marchwood teenager has funded vital new research to combat the harsh side effects of childhood cancer treatment.

A new project will be launched in memory of Ben Pavitt, focusing on the effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy on children’s developing brains.

In 2020, 15-year-old Ben was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic lymphoma, a blood cancer.

After two weeks of illness initially thought to be a chest infection, an X-ray showed multiple tumours around Ben’s heart and lungs.

His initial treatment worked, but the cancer returned in June 2021 and Ben died just four months later.

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His mum, Suzie, said: “Ben was the wittiest, most caring and most fearless teenager you could possibly wish to know. He was a proud brother, fierce guardian on the football field and in gaming, an actor, musician, thrill-seeker, world traveller, volunteer, cat lover, and a friend, loving son and grandson.

“From an early age, Ben would always look for ways to help others less fortunate than himself. He touched more lives in his brilliant 16 years on this earth than most of us could hope to achieve in 60.”

After Ben died, Suzie, dad Mike and sister Lauren set up Ben Pavitt's Legacy of Love Fund, a Special Named Fund at Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG), to honour Ben's selfless and resilient nature and to raise money for research into childhood cancer.

As previously reported in the Daily Echo, Ben's dying wish was fulfilled when Ben Pavitt's Legacy of Love Fund topped £100,000 within two years.

Now, their hard work and dedication to making a difference has enabled the funding of a new research project looking into the long-term effects of childhood cancer treatment.

Suzie added: "Ben was very clear that he wanted his legacy to help all children, regardless of the type of cancer they happened to be facing. All he sought to do was to alleviate suffering.

"It feels like we have done him proud and done justice to his memory."

Led by Professor Olaf Ansorge at the University of Oxford, the research will explore genetic changes in various types of healthy brain cells.

They will also look at how cancer cells that survive treatment are different from those in the original tumour.

The ultimate goal is to understand the long-term effects of cancer treatments and develop strategies to prevent them.