HE was the youngest child in Britain to be diagnosed with liver cancer...so Evan Wilson's proud parents will look on with an extra dose of pride as he takes part in a mud-filled obstacle course.

Brave Evan was diagnosed with cancer as a newborn with his first chemotherapy session at just 12 days old.

Now the schoolboy is clear of cancer and is calling on other children to help all Scots battling the disease by fundraising.

Evan of Lennoxtown, East Dunbartonshire will be cheered on by his mum Lorraine, 46, and dad Scott, 49, as well as his sister Jorja, 13.

They know exactly how vital the power of research is to help give families more tomorrows with their loved ones.

Lorraine said: “We’re so lucky to have Evan and proud of everything he has achieved. Evan is a brilliant and determined boy.

"But some families we got to know lost their beautiful children to this terrible disease.

"Now if we can help other families then we will.”

Just minutes after Evan was born a sharp-eyed midwife spotted a swelling in his stomach.

Doctors confirmed he was suffering from a rare form of liver cancer known as hepatoblastoma two hours later.

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He endured two bouts of septicaemia before surgery and six months of treatment.

Evan’s mum Lorraine, a psychiatric nurse, recalls vividly her shock in the early days at Glasgow’s Yorkhill hospital when Evan was fighting for his life.

Lorraine said: “It was the worst feeling in the world when Evan had cancer.

“I should have been bringing my baby boy home from hospital for the first time but instead he was in a cancer ward.

"I was just absolutely shattered. I don’t know how we got through it. I don’t think I slept for about a year.

"I wasn’t eating. I struggled to watch Evan go through treatment. It felt like our lives had stopped.

"This wasn’t how things were meant to be but we got help from so many people to pull us through it."

After treatment to shrink the size of the tumour, Evan and his family travelled to Birmingham’s Children’s hospital where on April 4, 2012 he had surgery to remove his gall bladder and half his liver.

The operation was estimated to last around eight hours so when medics called after just four hours, Evan’s parents feared the worst.

Evan’s dad, Scott, also a psychiatric nurse, said: “We raced back to the hospital ward like Olympic runners, terrified that something had gone wrong.

"When we reached the ward, the doctors explained we’d hung up the phone too quickly before they’d had time to tell us that everything had gone well.

"It was more straightforward then they’d thought so it had taken less time to complete the operation. That was such a relief.

"Evan had some medical care and we’re so fortunate to have the NHS in this country. We’ll be forever in the debt of Khalid Sharif, the surgeon who helped fix our boy.

"I remember him saying to us in the nicest possible way that he never wanted to see us again."

After six sessions of chemotherapy, the family were told in June 2012 that Evan was in remission.

READ MORE: Cancer affects 'everyone': Son's call to public to sign up for Beatson charity walk

Genetic tests later showed that Evan and his sister both have a faulty gene which leads to a lifelong condition known as familial polyposis, causing small growths in the large bowel but they are monitored closely.

And Evan, who has gone from strength to strength, is preparing to go in to primary four at St Machan’s Primary school in East Dunbartonshire.

Now clear of cancer, seven-year-old Evan has been chosen to launch Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life Pretty Muddy Kids event at Pollok Park, Glasgow on Sunday, September 8.

He’ll sound the horn to set youngsters off on the mud-splattered obstacle course before joining in with other boys and girls to wriggle through scramble nets, bounce on space hoppers and crawl through a mud pit.

Entries are still open for Pretty Muddy Kids Glasgow for boys and girls aged five to 12.

Entries are also still open for Pretty Muddy for teenagers and adults which is a 5K mud splattered obstacle course also staged at Pollok Park later that same day.

Lisa Adams, Cancer Research UK’s spokeswoman in Scotland, said: “Pretty Muddy Kids has all the excitement of our much loved Pretty Muddy events - but with an extra dose of muddy fun for the little ones.

“We’re delighted that Pretty Muddy Kids is returning to Glasgow. It promises plenty of fun, thrills and spills.

"We hope children will rally their friends, family and schoolmates to join us and get messy for Cancer Research UK.

“Children can complete the Pretty Muddy Kids course at their own pace, climbing, jumping, walking and laughing their way around.

"Whether they’re bouncing on a space hopper or clambering under a cargo net, every muddy step they take will help bring forward the day when all cancers are cured."

The charity was able to spend around £38 million last year in Scotland on some of the UK’s leading scientific and clinical research - helping more men, women and children survive.

To enter Race for Life Pretty Muddy see raceforlife.org or call 0300 123 0770.