The disease, which has symptoms ranging from fatigue and joint pain, to fever, weight loss and frequent infections, is treated with chemotherapy, as well as, in some cases, stem cell or bone marrow transplants.
“They took me into a room and I thought they were going to say he had Covid, not this,” Mr Clanford said.
Alfie, who is a pupil at Cromer Junior School, was rushed from Norwich to Addenbrooke s Hospital in Cambridge, which offers specialist care for children with cancer and blood disorders.
Alfie Gibson, 10, from Cromer, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia on Christmas Day.