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Raffi Starkowitz’s parents describe their little be as ‘cheeky, funny, and kind.’

Like lots of four-year-olds, he loves playing with his trains and cars, and kicking balls around.

But in March 2025, Raffi began walking differently.

‘We thought his walking unsteadily was strange, but nothing out of the ordinary,’ Raffi’s parents, Nikki, 46, and Neil, 47, explained.

The couple, from Barley, Hertfordshire, were with their two older daughters, Ella, 10 and Talya, seven, when they first got a call from Raffi’s nursery about his wobbliness — with staff saying he was leaning heavily to one side.

So, they took Raffi to the GP, who was unsure over what was causing the four-year-old’s walking problems, and referred him to A&E.

‘There, Raffi had a blood test that came back normal,’ the pair noted. But still worried, they showed the doctor a video of Raffi walking normally.

‘That is when the doctor recommended an MRI scan. Then things went downhill quickly,’ they shared.

With Nicky being a nurse herself, so was able to quickly pick up on the fact that the doctors likely suspected Raffi was in trouble.

‘When I was in the MRI room with Raffi, they came in halfway and gave him contrast [a dye that makes certain areas on a scan show up more clearly].

‘As a nurse, I knew that you only give contrast when you see something on the scan,’ she explained. ‘From that point, I knew it was something serious.’

And, five days later, Nicky and Neil were delivered the devastating news: their four-year-old son had a brain tumour.

‘When we got the news, we felt like someone had punched us in the chest and knocked all the wind out of us,’ the couple shared.

‘Nothing prepares you for the moment you are told that your child has cancer.’

Nicky and Neil couldn’t believe how quickly their son went ‘downhill,’ especially given that it’d only been a week since Raffi’s unsteadiness was spotted at nursery.

The doctors immediately jumped into action, with Raffi undergoing a 10-hour operation to remove the tumour at Great Ormond Street Hospital, which thankfully proved to be a total ‘success.’

‘They were able to remove the whole mass and not leave anything inside,’ Neil says.

However, following Raffi’s two initial rounds of chemotherapy, doctors found that the cancer had spread.

It was naturally an incredible scary time for the family and Raffi immediately started six weeks of radiotherapy in June 2025. The side effects were brutal for the little boy, who dealt with sickness, fatigue, skin peeling and hair loss.

Thankfully, by September, further scans revealed that there were no longer any visible signs of disease.

Nicky said: ‘When his scan came back clear, that was the best news we could have hoped for. He had responded to the treatment, which was a massive relief for us.’

‘It was an amazing moment; it gave us hope and something to grasp onto.’

For this family, however, their struggles weren’t over yet.

Five months after Raffi’s diagnosis and treatment, Nicky discovered an unusual mark on her breast, and was later diagnosed with stage three breast cancer.

The mum had three tumours, and underwent a mastectomy and complete reconstruction.

To combat this, the 46-year-old is currently receiving six months of chemotherapy, which will then be followed by radiotherapy and hormone treatment.

But for both Nicky and Neil, their focus is still their son, as the risk of relapse is sadly very high for the type of cancer Raffi had.

‘Luckily, there is a huge amount of treatment available for me, but for Raffi there is not,’ Nicky explained. And while his current scans show no visible disease, there’s a high risk the cancer could return.

So, with no preventative treatments currently available in the UK, the couple have shifted their sights to across the pond.

In the US, some children’s hospitals are trialling a new drug, difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), to treat high-risk medulloblastoma. Raffi’s parents wrote to ‘every hospital in America’ that is taking part in this trial to try and get their son a place.

Penn State Children’s Hospital, in Pennsylvania, replied, and offered Raffi a place.

Nicky and Neil have created a GoFundMe and are now in the process of trying to raise £300k to cover the cost of any ‘treatment, travel insurance, accommodation, and any future medical needs.’

So far, the pair have reached more than £200,000. On their GoFundMe, Nikki and Neil thanks their supporters ‘from the bottom of our hearts’, adding: ‘You have given our little boy a real chance at life, and we will never forget it.’

DFMO is currently only used to treat high-risk neuroblastoma in the UK and has not yet been approved by regulatory bodies for use on other rare cancers. So, this feels a lot like the family’s best chance at getting Raffi the care he needs.

Hopeful for the future, Nicky and Neil are aiming to ‘head out there at the end of January 2026 to meet the team.’

They are continuing to raise money to support Raffi in his health journey.

‘We are now raising our target to help fund these long-term needs, cover future scans and care, and ensure we can access any new or emerging treatments or clinical trials that may offer him the best possible future.

‘Thank you for standing with Raffi and our family, and for helping us fight for his tomorrow,’ the shared.

Do you have a story to share?

Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.

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If your home space is looking a little bleak, we’ve found the perfect hack for upgrading your spaces on a budget.

Dunelm has always been known as the destination to snap up affordable homeware and furniture picks, but did you know it had a little-known Returns Outlet that allowed you to snap things up for even less?

It’s like a homeware treasure trove. Amazing pieces in perfect condition at reduced prices. Be still our beating Pinterest boards.

Whether you’re on the hunt for furniture, lighting or even a brand-new mattress, you’ll find it all and more in the Dunelm outlet – and with an excellent price cut.

Take this Esme Woven Folkstone Stripe Occasional Chair, down from £299 to £269.10.

We love the contrast of the cream against the deep mulberry tones, and the upholstered back and seat are ideal for unwinding after a busy day. Just grab a glass of something special, pop something good on the telly and relax.

Ready to kit out your home for less? Explore our top picks from the Dunelm Returns Outlet below.

Dunelm Returns Outlet – what to shop

Esme Woven Folkstone Stripe Occasional Chair, Mulberry

We love the contrast of the cream against the deep mulberry tones in this cosy chair, and the upholstered back and seat are ideal for unwinding after a busy day. Just grab a glass of something special, pop something good on the telly and relax.

shop £269.10 (save £29.90)

Vida Designs 2 Tier Shoe Cabinet

Keep your spaces neat and tidy with this Vida Designs 2 Tier Shoe Cabinet, boasting two spacious drawers that hold several pairs of shoes to keep your hallways clutter-free.

shop £31.50 (save £2.50)

Atlantic Wooden Bed Frame

Score a new bed frame for just over £100 with this sleek Atlantic Wooden Bed Frame, featuring a traditional shaker style that complements any bedroom decor. With clean lines and a solid wood construction, this bed frame provides both strength and timeless elegance.

shop £107.10 (save £21.90)

Genoa Window Seat, Chenille

For a cozy spot to curl up and read or have an early morning cup of tea, the Genoa Chenille Window Seat is a great place for comfort. Covered in soft chenille fabric, this stylish window bench has an 88-litre lined storage compartment that’s perfect for storing reading material, throws and more.

shop £152.10 (save £16.90)

Jay-Be 2000 Hybrid E Pocket Eco Trucore Mattress, Double

Upgrade your sleep with this Jay-Be 2000 Hybrid E Pocket Eco Trucore Mattress, yours with a £35.90 saving. This mattress features extra-fine micro e-Pocket™ springs that introduce a new dimension to responsiveness, working independently to delicately respond to even the gentlest of movements throughout the night.

shop £323.10 (save £35.90)

Nardi Step Low Round Table with 2 Doga Relax Chairs

Stock up on garden essentials ahead of the new season with this Nardi Step Low Round Table with 2 Doga Relax Chairs, yours with 10% off. The table features a perforated top and weighted pedestal with three spoke legs for added stability, while the chairs boast a slatted Italian design for relaxing comfort.

shop £359.10 (save £39.90)

LPD Hagu Curved Occasional Armchair

Cosy and snug, this LPD Hagu Curved Occasional Armchair is set to become your living room's new focal point, boasting gentle curves and plump cushioning that make it an effortlessly inviting and comfy seat.

shop £494.10 (save £54.90)

Understandably, stocks are pretty low so, if you see something you like, snap it up now before it’s too late. You don’t wanna be left like old Bev Knight, always saying ‘shoulda, woulda, coulda’.

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While early forms of period products involved things like homemade cloths, today there’s an array of fixes that cavewomen and Victorian ladies would’ve marvelled at, from period pants to moon cups.

Now, though, women have been offered a new solution: the AI sanitary pad.

Joii is the world’s first AI-powered menstrual health app, which, when used alongside a specially designed sanitary pad, can measure ‘blood volume and clot size with clinical precision.’

The idea is that, armed with information, anyone who has a period will be able to work out what’s ‘normal’ for them, and notice changes in their period that could indicate wider health issues.

But in a world that’s increasingly sceptical of AI, from concerns about how it’s shaping the job market to the impact it’s having on our love lives, is using this technology a help or a hindrance for women’s health?

How does the AI sanitary pad work to track periods?

Joii is a product that, as founder Justyna Strzeszynska tells Metro, is for ‘anyone who menstruates.’ In particular, this includes younger people who aren’t so used to bleeding every month, and might want to ‘establish their own baseline’ in order to monitor changes in their cycle over time.

She also says the app is to help people who are experiencing symptoms and want ‘clearer information to support conversations with clinicians,’ as well as those who ‘simply want objective insight’.

Justyna says: ‘Most of us are taught to self-assess our bleeding as light, medium, or heavy, without any real reference point. Joii provides measurement rather than estimation.’

She created the app after her own difficult journey towards getting a fibroids diagnosis, which left her anaemic. She says medics would ask her about her flow, but she had no benchmark from which to measure it.

She explains: ‘Measuring blood loss is simply the next step to better understanding our bodies and demanding the care we deserve. We want every woman to have proof, not just pain.’

So, how does it all work? Joii uses AI technology, which is paired with specifically designed pads that claim to ‘instantly measure blood volume and clot size with clinical precision.’

Before putting a pad on, users will need to scan it using their phone, registering it on the app and giving it permission to track blood loss.

Much like other period tracking apps, Joii also gives users the option to track wider period symptoms and rank them based on their severity, including pelvic pain, pain during sex, brain fog, and fatigue.

What does the app flag as ‘abnormal’?

There’s no benchmark that the app would consider ‘abnormal,’ but it does use clinically approved guidance from both the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

These guidelines state that:

• Losing between 10 and 80ml of blood during a period is the expected range
• Any flow that consistently measures about 80ml meets the clinical definition of ‘heavy menstrual bleeding’
• Any flow that’s particularly light or shorter than anticipated can also occur in particular hormonal or medical circumstances, but Justyna notes that Joii doesn’t make ‘assumptions’ about why this might be.

‘Basic body awareness is just as powerful’

But in a world where we already track our steps, sleep and screen time, do we also really need to know the exact volume of blood produced during our periods?

Specialist pelvic health physiotherapist Tiffany Sequeira tells Metro, that measuring blood loss more objectively will likely prove helpful — mainly because terms like ‘heavy’ and ‘light’ can be so subjective.

She says: ‘Heavy menstrual bleeding is defined as around 80ml or more, but most women have no way of knowing where they fall.’

Tiffany says that while clots can tell us a lot, using descriptions like ‘huge’ or ‘tiny’ can, again, be open to interpretation. Clinically, she says that specialists will typically show concern when clots are ‘around the size of a 10p coin,’ or if someone is passing them relatively often.

‘That’s when it becomes more suggestive of heavy menstrual bleeding. If an app can consistently capture clot size and frequency over several cycles, that can give us clearer context, especially in cases of heavy bleeding, fibroids, adenomyosis or suspected endometriosis,’ she notes.

However, Ashfaq Khan, a consultant obstetrician and Harley Street gynaecologist, believes that regularly measuring period bleeding is ‘generally not helpful’ for the average woman — that is, unless it’s undertaken by someone with particularly heavy periods or someone with anaemia, which can cause irregular periods.

When it comes to the coin rule, Ashfaq believes that clots can easily be assessed visually by comparing the two in size without the need for AI intervention.

He tells Metro: ‘Such tools are unlikely to add meaningful value, as they would essentially be measuring the diameter, which can already be done by simple observation.’

He also cites the importance of using a good-quality sanitary pad, one that’s hypoallergenic, biodegradable, and made from safe materials.

With such AI-powered apps, he worries that ‘women may end up choosing an inferior-quality pad simply for the purpose of measuring menstrual blood loss, which can be assessed in several other, more effective ways.’

In his view, it’s ‘not going to help diagnose anything other than menorrhagia (heavy periods) or oligomenorrhoea (irregular periods).’

Tiffany also doesn’t believe that a high-tech app is strictly necessary for women to be able to understand their flow, though it can certainly empower women with the data they might need to walk into medical appointments with confidence.

However, Tiffany adds that ultimately, ‘you’re the expert in your body’.

She says: ‘Taking a few extra seconds in the bathroom to notice how often you’re changing pads, tampons or a cup, and paying attention to symptoms like flooding or clots can help you spot changes early,’ she suggests.

‘Tools like this can be useful, but basic body awareness is just as powerful when it comes to recognising when something isn’t right.’

Do you have a story to share?

Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.