We were told my ‘perfectly healthy’ girl, 11, just had tonsilitis… it was a fast-growing cancer that’s spreading

A MUM has shared the heartbreaking story of her daughter who was initially diagnosed with tonsillitis before learning she actually had an aggressive cancer. Armaie Burrows-Pitt, 11, had been experiencing extreme tiredness and a loss of appetite in May 2026, but GPs reassured her parents it was just tonsillitis and prescribed antibiotics. Armaie Burrows-Pitt, 11, had been experiencing extreme tiredness and lost her appetite and when she went to the doctors, she was diagnosed with tonsillitis Credit: SWNS But when Armaie, known as Melly, didn’t improve, her mum demanded a blood test Credit: SWNS When Armaie – known as Melly – didn’t improve, however, she was rushed to Warwick Hospital and demanded a blood test. Doctors kept her there for 15 days, believing she could be suffering from sepsis, tuberculosis or an infection caught from a family holiday in Egypt in February. Sign up for the Health newsletter Thank you! Melly was then transferred to Birmingham Children’s Hospital and it was there she was eventually diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma – a rare and aggressive form of childhood blood cancer. Her cancer is sadly stage 4 and it has spread to her spleen, liver and bone marrow. Speaking about the ordeal, mum Nikki, 38, said: “It was all very traumatising, having your daughter in hospital and not knowing what’s wrong with her for all those weeks. “It was very frustrating because every single GP I saw kept saying she was fine. “She’s never seen a doctor in her life and has never been to a hospital, I knew she wasn’t right.” Burkitt lymphoma is a rare, fast-growing type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that starts in white blood cells. Most read in Health The aggressive cancer, which primarily affects children, can multiply very quickly before spreading through the body. Just 260 people are diagnosed with the cancer in the UK each year, Cancer Research UK says. Pictured with her cousins here, Melly spent 15 days in hospital and was eventually diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma Credit: SWNS Melly’s mum Nikki, pictured here, pushed doctors for answers when her daughter’s condition did not improve Credit: SWNS Symptoms include tummy or back pain, feeling or being sick, diarrhoea and swelling of your tummy. Describing what happened, Nikki, from Rugby, Warwickshire, said: “We went to Devon at the end of May and she had us all worried as we could see she was going downhill. “She was tired and didn’t want to play much. She would take herself off to the corner of the park. “She didn’t want to talk, walk or eat – she just wanted to lie down. “She got told it was just a viral infection at Warwick [A&E], then I took her to a GP on June 2 and the doctors told me it was tonsillitis. “I was told she was perfectly fit and healthy by the GP, but we knew she wasn’t as she’s such a fit and active young girl who’s full of energy usually. “Then I took her back to Warwick to be told it was tonsillitis again and to finish the antibiotics, but we knew it was something more.” Speaking about the wait to get the correct diagnosis, the mum said: “It’s very frustrating to be told she’s okay when she’s not. “Children with symptoms like [hers] probably get dismissed, which is frustrating.” The mum-of-two said her daughter was left virtually bed-bound, but she assumed it could be caused by a gymnastics injury when she started complaining of pain in her shin and groin. “The first symptom was a neck pain which is why they thought it was meningitis in the hospital,” Nikki claimed. “Then she had a pain in her shin, then her groin and I thought it could’ve been her gymnastics as a couple of weeks before she had an accident.” The 11-year-old must now undergo 11 months of chemotherapy Credit: SWNS What is Burkitt lymphoma? Burkitt lymphoma is a type of fast growing non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). It is a type of blood cancer that affects the white blood cells. Lymphoma develops when white blood cells called lymphocytes grow out of control. They move around your body in your blood and your lymphatic system. Each year around 260 people are diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma in the UK. This makes up about 2 out of 100 cases (2%) of NHL. Burkitt lymphoma is the most common type of NHL in children in the UK. Adults can also be diagnosed, but it is more unusual. Burkitt lymphoma is more common in males than females. Symptoms of Burkitt lymphoma usually develop quickly. They can start or get worse in just a few days. Sporadic Burkitt lymphoma often grows in the abdomen and bowel. You might have some of the following symptoms: tummy (abdominal) or back pain feeling or being sick diarrhoea swelling of your tummy (abdomen) as fluid collects bleeding Source: Cancer Research UK Nikki, who works in admin, continued: “We then went back to Warwick on June 10, and I said: ‘I’m not leaving until you do a blood test’. “They did one and admitted her. They thought it was sepsis, TB, or an infection from Egypt from when we went in February. “She spent 15 days there – Warwick was being led by Birmingham Children’s Hospital as they thought it was something serious before she was moved there. “She was eventually diagnosed on July 3 with Stage 4 Burkitt lymphoma.” Melly’s family are now fundraising to cover costs while she undergoes six months of gruelling chemotherapy. Her auntie Emma Whyte, 36, said: “The main aim is to take Melly on lots of trips this year, we’ve had to cancel a lot of holidays because of this. “She wants to go to Disneyworld Florida and Lapland. “But we also want to give back to Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald House for all their work. “Melly’s stepdad is staying there and her mum is staying there, so it would be nice to give back to them.” Speaking about her niece’s diagnosis, she added: “In a strange way, it’s brought us all together in the worst time imaginable.” Comment now