A young girl who battled cancer from the age of seven has spoken of her dreams of becoming a professional footballer as she told sufferers not to let hospital treatments get them down.

Morven Macdonald, from Glasgow, is already part of the Rangers youth academy and dreams of one day pulling on the shirt as part of the first team. That’s not her only ambition though, and she’s aiming high with hopes of playing for Chelsea and winning five Balon d’Ors by the time she’s 21.

The 11-year-old was diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma in January 2019. A couple of months before, her mum had noticed a slight drooping in her left eyelid and believed it was the development of a lazy eye, so took her to the optician.

Things quickly changed and after an MRI she was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma and her mum Cara admits it was a terrifying time for everyone, as she tells her story with the Children with Cancer UK charity.

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In just a few weeks, the drooping eyelid had drooped down further and had begun to bulge outwards and had turned purple. We were very alarmed by the appearance of the eye and chased up for an MRI.

She said: “A tumour was found, and a biopsy followed. A very long and terrifying week later we were given the results that it was cancer. It was found the cancer was localised but would need immediate treatment of nine rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Our world was turned upside down.

“In September 2020 after months of treatment, we were given the news that the cancer had gone and the treatment had been successful. She is now almost three years all clear and we can’t even believe it happened. All we can do is hope and pray she stays well.”

Morven now plays with Rangers youths and she says that is her greatest achievement. She wears goggles when she plays football because her eye is sensitive to the light having had it closed for so long during treatment.

They are helpful to her and she wouldn’t be able to play if they weren’t available and she’s happy with how they let her get on with achieving her dreams.

She said: “I use them to play football because my eye is really sensitive to the light. Whenever its really sunny, they go dark.

“And then just depending on the light depends how dark the lens goes. I just use them so I can play normally and be able to see.

“If I didn’t have these on right now I probably wouldn’t be able to look at you. It’s just a problem that comes with having my eye open after it being closed for that long.”

Saracomas are rare types of cancer that develop in the two supporting tissues of the body, such as bone, muscle or cartilage. There are two main types, soft tissue sarcomas and bone sarcomas and more than half diagnosed in children are rhabdomyosarcoma.

July is Sarcoma Awareness Month and Morven has starred in a video to raise awareness for the illness and speak about her own battle with it as she discussed her football hopes, what her friends thought and how she got through it all.

(Image: Children with Cancer UK)

She spent more than a year getting treatment and knows how difficult it can be but she’s urged others in her situation to keep motivated and doing the things you want to do.

She said: “Just because you are in the hospital it doesn’t mean you have to stop. Whenever you get a chance, get out, keep fit and just do the things you want to do. You don’t need to think of yourself as different to anyone else.”

When asked what her biggest achievement has been so far, she responded: “My family are big Rangers fans and since I was young, I’d always think ‘I want to be playing for them’. I’ve always tried to achieve to try and get there.”

And her hopes for the future?

She added: “To play for Chelsea and have five Ballon d’Ors when I’m 21. I achieve high!”

Amar Naher, CEO of Children with Cancer UK, said: “We are delighted to hear Morven is thriving and we are very grateful she is helping us raise awareness about sarcoma during Sarcoma Awareness Month.

“Building awareness ensures that we never stop working to improve outcomes for any child or young person with cancer. We believe that every child and young person deserves to have their whole life ahead of them, but cancer is still the biggest cause of death in children under the age of 15. ​Faster diagnosis of childhood, teenage and young adult cancers, and better, kinder treatments mean more children will survive​ without the life-inhibiting side effects that can often come with remission.”

Watch the full video as Morven tells her story below.