Bradley Lowery back with ‘best pal’ Jermain Defoe after cancelling England star’s hospital visit when he felt ‘too poorly’ to see him
BRAVE Bradley Lowery has had a hospital visit from his "best friend" Jermain Defoe just two days after it was cancelled because the tot was too ill.
Footie-mad Bradley, who is terminally ill with cancer, was all smiles when he posed for a photo with the Sunderland ace while sat on a bed covered with toys.
The heartwarming image is captioned: "Bradley is feeling a little better today and was cheered up by a visit from his best friend."
It comes just a few days after Bradley was led out with Defoe and the England team before their World Cup qualifier with Lithuania on Sunday.
Bradley, who suffers with a type of cancer called neuroblastoma, was seen with his arms wrapped around his hero in a touching moment before the tie.
The youngster had been "over the moon" to find out he was a mascot, with a video showing him jumping for joy at the news.
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Just three days after the match Defoe, who scored for in England's 2 - 0 victory, had to abandon a visit to Bradley in hospital because the youngster was too poorly.
A photograph of Bradley showed him lying in a hospital bed with a tube going into his chest and a sad expression on his face.
A tweet with the image read: "Brad is poorly he even cancelled a visit from his best friend @IAmJermainDefoe as he didn't want him to see him poorly to hear him say that."
Bradley from Blackhall Colliery near Hartlepool, is a massive fan of Sunderland and the club have rallied around him since his terminal diagnosis last year.
He has been lead out onto the pitch several times whilst clutching the hand of his hero Jermain Defoe - the team's striker who has netted 14 Premier League goals so far this season.
Bradley's story touched the hearts of the nation after he was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in January 2013 when he was aged just two.
A rare tumour was found above his left kidney and he was given a 50-50 chance of survival.
Battling Brad managed to defeat the illness but tragically relapsed after some time in remission in July 2016.
In a crushing blow his family later found his diagnosis was terminal and declared the news in a blog post last month.
A message on Bradley’s campaign page read: “Unfortunately the results are not what we wanted to hear.
"Bradley scans show that there has been a small reduction in some parts however there is a new tumour on the bottom of his back.
"As you can imagine we are devastated and heartbroken with this news as I really wanted the new treatment to work.
"We are not sure where we go from here as it will depend on his bone marrow biopsy results.
"He is getting this done tomorrow but results won't be back for another week.
"Why is life so cruel? Why do we have to get bad news time after time?
"Why does my baby not get a break?"
Neuroblastoma is a type of cancer that most commonly afflicts babies and young children.
The disease develops from special nerve cells, known as neuroblasts, which get left behind from the child's development in the womb.
It mostly begins in the sufferer's adrenal glands located above the kidneys but can occur in the nerve tissue that runs along the spinal cord in the neck, chest, abdomen or pelvis.
The vicious illness can then spread to other organs like the bone, bone marrow, lymph nodes and skin.
Neuroblastoma afflicts around 100 children a year in the UK but the cause of the disease is still not known.
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