Pontypool boy Teddy Sloman heads to New York for experimental neuroblastoma vaccine trial

Almost a year after doctors told his parents he might not survive the surgery that could save him, three-year-old Teddy Sloman of Pontypool, Torfaen, has scans showing no active disease. Next month the family will fly to New York, where Teddy is due to take part in an experimental vaccine trial. His mother, Sarah, hopes it will be "the final chapter" of his treatment and "the end of this ridiculous nightmare".

Teddy has high-risk neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive childhood cancer. The vaccine is designed to stop the type of cancer he has from returning, and it is no longer available in the UK. Friends of the family launched a campaign to raise £250,000 so he could reach the New York trial. They hit the target in 12 weeks, which Sarah said she had thought would never happen "in a million years". The target has since been raised to £350,000 to cover ongoing costs, and more than £300,000 has been raised so far.

The diagnosis came in July 2025, after months in which Teddy's symptoms were put down to teething, illness and constipation. He stopped eating and drinking, slept for hours by day and night, and began vomiting. Sarah felt a mass in his abdomen and was first told it was just faeces. When he remained unwell, she took him back to The Grange Hospital in Cwmbran. A locum doctor running the children's assessment unit said such symptoms were "not normal" and ordered a scan, which showed the mass was a significant tumour.

Sarah is a paediatric nurse, and she described hearing the news as surreal. She recalled being in that same situation as a student nurse about 20 years ago. "This is my work world," she said. "This is not supposed to be my personal life." She has previously said her medical knowledge was both a blessing and a curse.

The treatment that followed took the family far from home. They spent 10 months in Noah's Ark Children's Hospital for Wales and travelled to Birmingham and London for specialist care. It has left lasting effects: Teddy now receives all his food through a tube and must learn to eat and drink again. Long stretches in bed also meant he had to learn to walk three times. Sarah said the family often faced problems they could not have anticipated, and that they began "running on fumes a long time ago".

The family was split too. Their younger son, Joey, who is nearly two, spent much of the year with grandparents and relatives, and Sarah spoke of "mum guilt". Because of a measles outbreak in New York, they have made what she called a "heartbreaking decision" to leave Joey in the UK for the first trip. At home in recent months, the brothers have been playing together and telling each other they love each other. Sarah said things that felt impossible a year ago now feel possible.

She described Teddy as a cheerful "social butterfly" who stayed positive throughout. While his friends learn to jump in puddles and use climbing frames, she said, he is learning to take blood pressures and use a stethoscope. The clear scan, she said, felt like "Christmas came early" after months of fearing relapse.

Sarah also argued that childhood cancers need more focus, support and research, and called funding "harrowing" compared with adult cancers. "We shouldn't need to be raising all this money to fly the other side of the world for drugs," she said. She wants Teddy's story known so the next family does not face the same journey.

The Welsh government said improving cancer care is a top priority, with a 10-year strategy on prevention, diagnosis and treatment for patients of all ages. It said Health and Care Research Wales funds early-stage clinical trials for children and young people in partnership with Cancer Research UK. The family's flight to New York is next month.