Son of cancer con mum speaks out about ordeal

THE son of a woman who pretended he had cancer in order to illegally claim £85,000 in benefits has spoken out about his ordeal.
His mum was jailed for three years and nine months earlier this week after admitting eight charges of fraud, one of cruelty to her son and one of forging a doctor's letter to delay court proceedings.
Gloucester Crown Court heard that the 36-year-old from the Stroud area had shaved her son's head and eyebrows and sent him to school in a wheelchair.
She used some of the money to take the family on holiday to Florida, where she used her son's wheelchair to skip queues for theme park rides. 
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, the boy, now 10, said: "It was horrible being made to think I had cancer. My mum made me think I was going to die.
"I asked her to tell me why she did it but she wouldn't say.
"I said to my mum, 'Why did you pick on me? Why did you lie and say I'd got cancer when I was all right?'
"She made me miss out on all the fun.
"I would have loved to go down the park and play tag and football with all the other kids. But my mum made me stay at home to rest.
"I felt like I'd been singled out. I didn't want to be different.
"But she made people treat me like I was different. She wouldn't let me be like a normal kid."
Since his ordeal, the boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, has been playing football for his school team as well as hockey, and is in the school play.
He also eats hearty meals instead of the regular snacks his mum convinced him he needed for his illness.
The boy's father told how he was duped when his wife told him their son had been diagnosed with potentially fatal auto-immune lymphoproliferative syndrome, a serious and debilitating blood disorder.
The 38-year-old dad, who has been caring for the boy since his mum was arrested, said: "I still find it hard to believe she managed to dupe me for so long.
"I've not even tried to get my head around it as it would be a complete mind mess.
"It's taken my son a long time to realise there's nothing wrong with him.
"He kept asking every couple of days, 'So I haven't got cancer?'
"We've had to get a social worker in several times to reassure him.
"I'm not angry with his mum and I feel no love or hatred towards her. I find it strange but I have no feelings for her.
"I think she did it for greed, to live a life of luxury."