Dying son had chemo so he could meet his brother

Realising Finlay, then 20 months, had very little time left, Mrs Nuttall and her husband Stuart took the difficult decision to allow their young son to have chemotherapy to prolong his life so he could meet his new sibling.

"We really wanted him to meet his brother. We just felt that we did not want them to miss those days," said Mrs Nuttall, of Gomersal, West Yorkshire, who is now pregnant with her third child.

Now after being nominated by her husband, an A&E registrar, Mrs Nuttall has won an award for the bravery and strength of character she showed dealing with terrible loss at a time that should have been filled with joy.

Finlay was diagnosed with a malignant rhabdoid tumour in his liver in November 2008. His brother Lachlan, now 14 months, was born in the December, with the family able to spend a few precious weeks together before Finlay died in February last year.

Finlay was very sick so the family did simple things such as going on day trips and even doing household tasks such as unloading the washing machine.

"We put Lachlan on the sofa with him and he liked to hold his hand and he would stroke his head," Mrs Nuttall said.

Finlay was treated in Leeds and received a great deal of support from cancer charity Candlelighters, and Mrs Nuttall is backing its 500,000 appeal to help move its ward and outpatients' clinic from St James's Hospital to Leeds General Infirmary.

She also won the title of Bravest Mum 2009/10 in the Mother & Baby Awards and donated her 100 voucher to help pay for a party for youngsters with cancer.