Another blow for Broadwater family

LESS than a year after the Stillwell's eldest daughter was diagnosed with the same rare genetic cancer as her father, one of the couple's twin daughters has also tested positive.

Six-year-old Ella was told she suffered from Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) last month. It is an hereditary condition which causes tumours to grow on organs, including the kidneys, spinal cord, cerebellum, part of the brain, retina and the pancreas. Her non-identical twin, Mia, was given the all-clear on the same day. Her big sister, Tantara, aged seven, was diagnosed with the condition last year.

Mum Tracey Fox-Stillwell said the family, from Broadwater, learned of their eldest daughter's test results just weeks after dad Allen Stillwell had to undergo life-threatening emergency surgery to remove tumours from his brain.