A 3-YEAR-OLD British cancer sufferer has collected 1,500 colorful beads — one for each of the medical procedures he has had since he began battling a rare form of the disease.

    Oliver Chapman was diagnosed with a rare cancer-type disease aged 20 months, after doctors discovered holes in his skull.

    Oliver, from Deeping St James, Lincolnshire, has spent two years in and out of hospital to have chemotherapy doses, undergo scans and have surgery for Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis.

    The condition occurs when Langerhans cells — a type of white blood cell found in the skin that normally helps fight infection — are overproduced and spread around the body.

    From the very beginning, the youngster has collected his beads of courage — and threads every single one onto a piece of string which is now 16 meters long.

    In total, Oliver, whose stomach is swollen since the disease spread to his gut and liver, has 1,553 beads, which he has earned since his diagnosis in February 2014.

    They represent every single medical procedure he has ever had — which average four a day since he was diagnosed and are given to him by a play specialist, someone who helps children cope with any pain and anxiety at their treatment, at the hospital.

    His mom Danielle Harper, 33, said, “He’s been collecting these beads from the very beginning.

    “I have to keep a record of what procedures he has and then when he’s in hospital I show it to the play specialist, who gives us the beads.

    “Oliver loves them. He absolutely loves them. They are a lovely keepsake.”

    Different color beads stand for different types of treatment and Oliver has 17 different colors.

    In his first year, Oliver underwent chemotherapy which seemed to be working, but as soon as it stopped the cancer returned — and spread even further.

    After intensive chemotherapy failed to make a difference he began a medical trial at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, which he is due to finish at the end of the year.

    So far, he has collected 463 white beads, for each dose of chemotherapy he has had and 362 blue beads to represent the days when he was been pumped with steroids.

    He also has 136 lime green beads, which represent every time he has had a fever and gone into isolation, and 125 black beads, each of which represents a needle poke.  (SD-Agencies)