A TEENAGE girl who has bravely fought two cancers at the same time has celebrated the end of her gruelling radiotherapy treatment.

Bailey Coppack, 13, of Mirfield, marked the end of her treatment with a “bit of a do” at Huddersfield Town’s Canalside complex.

Bailey was diagnosed with a slow-growing brain tumour in 2008 and last summer spent two months in the USA having pioneering proton therapy.

On her return home, she became increasingly tired and listless and a blood test revealed another cancer – leukaemia.

After chemotherapy for the leukaemia came the devastating news that the brain tumour had spread to her spine.

That led to a dose of radiotherapy treatment which has just been completed, leaving Bailey completely drained.

Bailey’s stepdad Graham Ellis said: “Bailey has been incredibly brave to come through what she has.

“It’s been a rollercoaster of a year with good news and setbacks. Now we just want to get back to some kind of normality.”

Graham and partner Lisa Coppack, both 42, and Bailey’s sister Ellie, 12, and brother Jamie, three, have been with Bailey every step of the way.

Now, with her treatment at an end, the family want Bailey back to her old self and a return to a ‘normal’ family life.

“People ask how we cope and keep going,” said Graham. “But you just do. You can’t collapse in a heap.

“Cancer has completely taken over our lives and we have had to deal with it but now we must start to live as normal a life as possible.”

Bailey had surgery to remove the brain tumour but it grew back and the only solution was radical proton therapy only available in the United States.

A big fundraising campaign, backed by Town, was launched but the treatment was eventually funded by the NHS.

Bailey spent two months in Oklahoma coming home last July.

In September she was diagnosed with leukaemia and Graham said: “Finding out about that was worse than finding out about the brain tumour.

“While the tumour was life-threatening, it wasn’t imminently so.

“With the leukaemia the treatment had to start straight away and Bailey was in hospital for three months.

“When the leukaemia went into remission we found the tumour had spread so it was a case of ‘ok, let’s deal with that’.

“We have always been positive but you have to be realistic as well.”

Graham said that since September it had been a “long, hard slog” and added: “Bailey is a tough girl but towards the end of the radiotherapy she was reaching her physical limits.

“Bailey doesn’t complain but for the last couple of weeks she got pretty fed up. For all her maturity we have to remember she is still only 13.

“She has felt sick most days and is quite weak.

“What we need to do now is build up her mental and physical strength and get her feeling that she is on the mend.”

The next target is a scan in June to confirm the radiotherapy has been successful.

Until then life moves on.

Lisa returned to work as an administrator with Kirklees Council after Easter having been allowed six months off.

“It will be good for her and give her something else to focus on,” said Graham, who runs his own home maintenance business.

The family held an informal party for friends and relatives at Canalside after Town’s game against Hull.

“We just wanted to mark the end of Bailey’s treatment and thank all our family and friends for their support,” added Graham.