A DAD has blasted an insurance company who he claims refused to refund his family trip to Disney World Florida after his son was diagnosed with bone cancer.

Calvin Howorth, 14, had his leg amputated just three months after doctors discovered the lump – forcing the family to cancel their dream holiday to America.

The family had been saving since last year for the trip of the lifetime to treat Calvin, who has never been on holiday – now left devastated when Travel Claims Services is said to have only refunded them just £715.50 out for the £2,631.29 trip.

Michael said he had first noticed the lump on his teen son’s leg in January, with it “rapidly” starting to grow.

In February, the quiet, online game-loving teen was diagnosed with bone cance, high grade osteoblastic osteosarcoma, – with doctors making the heartbreaking decision to amputate his leg.

Speaking to the Sun Online, the 53-year-old dad said he was “devastated” to see his young son struggle with the loss of his leg.

He said: “It went from a small little lump on his leg to something like a CD chopped in half on his leg.

“It was really aggressive – it happened so fast as well.”

The family, of Todmorden, West Yorks, had been saving up for their two-week holiday – what would have been Calvin’s first – since July last year.

But they were forced to cancel the trip, with Calvin still undergoing chemotherapy to ensure the cancer is under control.

Bone cancer is one of the most common to affect children, often because rapid growth spurts during puberty can make bone tumours develop.

Mr Howorth, who is a self-employed DVD shop owner, said he had immediately contacted Travel Claim Services after his son’s diagnosis.

BE ALERT: The signs of bone cancer

The two most common types of bone cancer are osteosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma.

Osteosarcoma is the more common of the two and usually occurs in the bones around the knee, while Ewing's tends to affect the bones of the pelvis, thigh, upper arm or ribs.

They're both more common in teens, with Ewing's being slightly more common in boys than in girls.

Both diseases have around 68 per cent survival rate.

Symptoms include:

• pain in bone
• stiffness, swelling or tenderness around a bone or joint
• trouble moving normally
• weak bones – leading to fractures
• fatigue
• fever
• weight loss
• anaemia (iron deficiency)

For more info, visit Children With Cancer 

And he said he had initially been assured that the full cost of the holiday would be reimbursed, the agency has since apparently changed their minds.

He said: “I called them to say what had happened and they just said – ‘oh sorry’ and told me I should get all my money back.

“But now they are trying to say it’s a policy to only give 50 per cent back.”

The dad said he was happy to pay the £800 excess – but was still unimpressed with the offer from Travel Claims Services.

Michael added: “It’s terrible – we’re running out of money after everything.

“It just don’t seem right to me.

“They really pushed us out the boat with this number – it’s heartless.”

Since being contacted by the Sun Online, the family has been offered an extra payment of £894.63 to make the total reimbursement £1,610.13.

A spokesperson for the company said: "We are sorry to hear about Mr Howorth's son and wish him a speedy recovery. The claim was originally settled based on the date that the medical consultant knew the family would be unable to travel.

"As the Howorth family didn’t cancel their holiday until later, they incurred higher cancellation charges than they would otherwise have needed to.

"When further information was provided, it became clear that the family hadn’t been made aware of the medical advice and had cancelled their holiday at the earliest opportunity. We therefore reviewed the claim and have adjusted the settlement accordingly.

"The additional payment will be with the family within seven working days."

Disney World declined to comment.

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