HELP GIVE MORE CHILDREN LIKE LILY BRIGHTER AND MORE POSTIVE OUTCOMES
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“I just felt numb. When you’re told your child has cancer, it feels like you’re hearing the wrong thing.
It’s just not normal.”
Wanting there to be more positive outcomes for children with neuroblastoma is the reason why we at Neuroblastoma UK work here.
We want to be able to share more stories like Lily’s, and live in a world where there is a cure for neuroblastoma.
But we can’t do it without your help. Please give £10 or whatever you can afford, so that we can continue to fund vital research that will give more children like Lily brighter and more positive outcomes.
Lily's story
Lily (centre), with her mum Angela and sister Grace
Lily was diagnosed with neuroblastoma as a baby. She suffered from a recurrent eye infection when she was around six months old. Her eyelids also looked quite droopy and her she was quite sweaty, but only on one side of her body.
Her mum, Angela, raised her concerns with the health visitor, and they referred Lily for x-rays and blood tests after noticing her pupils were different sizes. However, nothing show up as unusual from the tests. It was only after Lily has a urine test that cancer markers were found. On 27 June 2011, Lily was diagnosed with stage four, intermediate risk neuroblastoma.
Lily needed surgery to remove the tumour and thankfully they managed to remove the whole thing in one go. After that she had chemotherapy, which made her really poorly and meant she kept picking up infections. Despite this, Lily remained a smiley, happy little girl during her treatment.
In December 2021, Lily was in and out of hospital, and unable to be visited by her extended family. She was neutropenic following her chemotherapy and had a viral infection meaning she was in an isolation room in hospital up until Christmas Eve. Lily was allowed home on Christmas Eve and was able to spend Christmas with her sister, Grace.
But happily, Lily was given the all clear following the end of her chemotherapy in June 2012. Despite the long term effects of her cancer and treatment, today she is a happy and healthy 12 year old. This year, Lily will be spending Christmas with her mum and her big sister, Grace. Lily will also be seeing her extended family including her grandmother, aunt and cousins. When we asked Lily what she was most looking forward to this Christmas, she said she’s looking forward to spending time with her family, and that she is hoping for it to snow.
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Neuroblastoma UK is awarding £1.1 million in its 2024 grant round to fund new innovative research into neuroblastoma. New therapeutic approaches, pathways to improve existing treatments and exploration of an MRNA vaccine are just some of the projects to be funded in the 2024 grant round; with an emphasis on translational research which can be rapidly transferred from the lab bench to bedside.