Joanna's Virgin London Marathon 2015 page
Team Ridgeway is raising money for Solving Kids’ Cancer UK
Story
Dear amazing friends,
Yes I'm doing it again....my fifth marathon and possibly my last as my knees can't take much more running!
This year I'm raising money for the daughter of an old friend. Vanessa suffers from neuroblastoma. A terrible cancer that is most common in children under 5. She fought it and almost beat it but devastatingly it has returned. She is now going through more aggressive chemo and if she gets through this will need the money we raise to go to america for immunotherapy which will hopefully help her beat it once and for all.
Vanessa is a wonderful little girl who has so much joy in a really tough world. Since she was 4 she has been through so much with this disease. She is now 6 and fighting to beat it again. Please help her get through this.
Please read below where Parker, her Dad gives us a description of everything they have been through.
Thanks everyone. Anything you give is very much appreciated.
Jo xx
“Vanessa is 6 and has been fighting for her life since 2012. Since her diagnosis with stage 4 Neuroblastoma, one of the most aggressive childhood cancers, Vanessa has endured 26 months of treatment at Great Ormond Street. She spent 17 months as an in-patient, where she underwent chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant, radiotherapy, 3 major surgeries and immunotherapy. Her suffering has been indescribable and more than any child should endure - but she stayed positive and gave Anna and I hope when we were most down. Have a look at this one minute video which shows how she faced up to her first year of treatment... it was humbling to all of us.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOlHJiV4LnM&
Vanessa finally reached remission a few months ago and has been back at school, building her strength and self-confidence and she is so proud of the beautiful brown hair that has finally regrown long enough to plait. It’s been a happy time for our family… but this happiness was not to endure.
On her final end of treatment scan in January 2015 we were heartbroken to learn that Vanessa has relapsed again, this time with an inoperable tumour in her skull. She now faces another year of chemotherapy, followed by more radiotherapy or potentially proton therapy, and lastly immunotherapy. It is this last stage that promises some hope of stopping an endless cycle of toxic treatment and relapse. However, currently the only treatment available for Vanessa is in New York at Sloane Kettering.
This week we were meant to remove the line that accesses her heart, which has prevented her from being submerged or going swimming since she was 4. Instead this week we will be cropping-short hair the brown hair she has been so proud to regrow. We've learned that this saves her the indignity of it falling out in clumps, as the chemo kicks in. We are reaching out to our friends, our family and the public to support us with raising money for her treatment in New York. We need to raise several hundred thousand dollars. Your generosity will help to give Vanessa a chance to grow up with her sisters and find happiness again outside of hospital.”
Funds raised through Vanessa’s Journey will go towards accessing further treatment in New York. In the event that Vanessa deteriorates and never becomes eligible for international treatment, all donations will be go towards Neuroblastoma Clinical Research. Her parents, Parker and Anna greatly appreciate any support.
All donations are paid into NCCA UK’s general funds to further its general charitable purposes. The funds raised by this Journey are not restricted for Vanessa’s use. However, the trustees of NCCA UK have agreed to designate funds raised by this Journey to help Vanessa and her family pay for potential future treatment costs and all other associated costs including travel and accommodation. If Vanessa no longer needs the funds, or if the trustees decide, at their absolute discretion, that the funds should be used for a different purpose, they may redesignate all or part of the funds for NCCA UK’s general charitable purposes. We are very grateful for your charitable donation. For further information about NCCA UK and how we spend donations, please see our FAQs http://www.ncca-uk.org/faqs
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