Family share heartbreaking photo of five-year-old son with terminal cancer

The parents of a five-year-old boy suffering from cancer have opened up about their heartbreak after learning that his health has deteriorated.

In a picture posted to Twitter, dad Carl Lowery can be seen cuddling his son Bradley after he and wife Gemma were told that Bradley could have just a couple of months left to live.

The little boy had been undergoing treatment for the childhood cancer neuroblastoma, but the family have now revealed that recent scans have confirmed that his cancer has continued to grow.

After a meeting with Bradley's consultant, Gemma and Carl were told the devastating news that 'Bradley will loose his fight' with the disease.

In a blog post accompanying the image, his parents said they had the options of stopping all treatment, which would give Bradley about two months to live, go into palliative care, or receive a combination of antibody and chemotherapy treatment.

However, they said: 'He [Bradley's consultant] believes regardless of the three options we have they all have the same outcome and that Bradley will lose his fight.'

His mum Gemma, added: 'I honestly have no words to how heart broken I am right now. I really don't know how I'm going to make a decision either to take my baby home and have a couple of months with him or put him through more gruelling treatment that could leave him fighting for his life and to have the same outcome.'

The family were hoping to take their son to America in the hope of receiving pioneering treatment. However, while the consultant offered to treat Bradley, Gemma said 'He believes if we do that we could lose Bradley through treatment and we will be in hospital for at least two months.'

Since being diagnosed, the family from Sunderland has received support and donations from around the country, including from national football teams.

At Sunderland's Stadium of Light, his name was chanted by fans from the rival team, while Everton Football Club donated £200,000 to his fund.