Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

EXCLUSIVE: 8-year-old Montrose boy Lawson celebrates ‘best present’ – Christmas cancer-free

Lawson finished his treatment and rang the bell at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee earlier this month.

In summary:
  • Eight-year-old Lawson Anderson rang the bell at Ninewells Hospital, celebrating the end of three years of chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia just in time for Christmas.
  • Diagnosed at five, Lawson endured intensive treatment but maintained schooling and football, showing remarkable resilience throughout.
  • Now cancer-free, his family calls his recovery the “best Christmas present,” eagerly anticipating a joyful holiday together.

We use an AI model to generate these news summaries. The article below is original and was created by one of our journalists. Please note that while every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of our news summaries, they may contain errors.

Lawson Anderson, 8, with mum Kelly and dad Craig after finishing his cancer treatment in time for Christmas
Lawson Anderson, 8, from Montrose, with mum Kelly and dad Craig after finishing his cancer treatment in time for Christmas. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DC Thomson

Montrose boy Lawson Anderson ringing the bell to mark the end of his cancer treatment has been the “best Christmas present” for him and his family.

The eight-year-old has been having chemotherapy for the past three years after he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia shortly after starting primary one.

It has been a tough time for the Borrowfield Primary pupil.

So it was a very special, poignant moment on December 9 when Lawson was finally able to ring the bell at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee – surrounded by his mum Kelly, dad Craig, brothers Heath, 15, Smith, 14 and close family.

Kelly, 43, says they all marked the occasion with a party afterwards at Salty’s restaurant in Montrose.

“Lawson finishing his cancer treatment is the best Christmas present,” Kelly says.

“It was such an emotional day when he rang the bell and it was such a relief to see him finally complete treatment.

Angus boy Lawson, 8, ringing the bell at Ninewells Hospital with mum Kelly, dad Craig, close family and staff members.
Lawson, 8, ringing the bell with mum Kelly, dad Craig, close family and hospital staff. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DC Thomson

“When Lawson was reading the poem to ring the bell I could hear the emotion in his voice.

“It was such a happy day.”

Ringing the bell is a tradition at many cancer centres to celebrate the completion of cancer treatment.

When was Montrose boy Lawson first diagnosed with cancer?

Lawson was diagnosed with cancer when he was five years old.

He first started feeling unwell when he was at Borrowfield Primary.

Kelly, who works as a dental hygienist in Montrose, explains: “He had just started primary one in August 2021.

“And the following month I got a phone call from the school.

“They said he wasn’t feeling very well and had turned a funny colour.

“So we picked him up and he was quite pale. It was a fortnight of him not feeling well and he had a temperature.

“I ended up taking him to the doctor’s four times altogether.

Angus boy Lawson was five when he was diagnosed with cancer.
Angus boy Lawson was five when he was diagnosed with cancer. Image: Kelly Anderson

“On the fourth time the doctor referred us to Ninewells to have his bloods taken.”

Lawson needed blood transfusions and tests were carried out.

It was later discovered he had abnormal cells.

“Craig and I were taken to a room and asked what we had been told,” Kelly continues.

“We had been told it could be a virus.

“There had also been mention of leukaemia – although initially there were no abnormal cells.

“But they said now there were abnormal cells and that it looked like leukaemia.

“We were then referred to the Edinburgh Children’s Hospital for Lawson to have a bone marrow biopsy taken.

“He had the biopsy and it was confirmed he had acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.”

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is a rare type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow.

What treatment did Lawson have?

Kelly says she and her husband Craig, 36,  who works as an electrical engineer, were shocked when they were given the diagnosis.

“It was that sinking feeling – you just can’t believe it. We were just devastated – our whole family was.

“We have always been open with Lawson so we told him everything – even when it came to his treatment so we could prepare him.”

Lawson Anderson pictured during his chemotherapy treatment.
Lawson had chemotherapy. Image: Kelly Anderson

Kelly explains that his treatment was to be carried out just over three years in different stages.

At the start it was intense – Lawson was given daily chemotherapy and steroids.

Later it moved to a maintenance phase and for this he was given chemotherapy every four weeks with steroids.

Lawson had a portacath (a hollow flexible plastic tube which is placed into a large vein leading into the heart) fitted in his chest to access bloods and deliver chemotherapy.

He also had a number of lumbar punctures to get chemo into his spinal fluid.

“Lawson also had to have a nose tube inserted to get steroids and oral chemotherapy into his system because he was too young to take tablets.

Lawson lost his hair during his cancer treatment. Image: Kelly Anderson

“He really struggled with that.

“But when he learned to swallow the tablets the nose tube was taken out.”

Lawson, from Angus, has been having cancer treatment for the past three years.
Lawson has been having cancer treatment for the past three years. Image: Kelly Anderson.

After Lawson got through the initial treatment phases, he was able to go back to school.

“He has managed to go to school pretty much the majority of the time,” Kelly says.

“Since he has been on maintenance treatment, he has gone for chemotherapy in the morning and then gone to school in the afternoon.

 Lawson, from Angus, has now finished his cancer treatment in time for Christmas.
Lawson, from Angus, has managed to play football during his cancer treatment. Image: Kelly Anderson.

“He hasn’t felt sick or anything so he has been quite lucky.”

Kelly says her son has also managed to play football throughout his treatment.

Lawson, who is a big Rangers fan, plays for St Laurence Youth Football Club 2016 in Laurencekirk.

Lawson, from Montrose, looking forward to Christmas now he’s cancer free

Kelly says the family are now looking forward to Christmas and spending the day at home.

“It will be all of mine and Craig’s family and we will be doing the full works for Christmas.

Lawson has completed his cancer treatment in time for Christmas.
Lawson has completed his cancer treatment in time for Christmas. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DC Thomson

“Lawson is looking forward to it and he is really excited.”

She adds: “Throughout his treatment he has been so good. He hasn’t complained, he has just got on with it – he has taken it all in his stride.

“He is a lovely boy and such a trouper – we are all really proud of him.”

Conversation