We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

The youngster, who has fought bone cancer twice, had her £460,000 treatment funded by a mystery Sunday Express reader following our Christmas appeal. Doctors are delighted at how resilient she has been through the five rounds of gruelling immunotherapy in New York – so much so she is now slated to be home a year earlier than originally thought. Anna, from Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, has been at the private Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre since January.

When the family arrived, doctors warned that it could be a long, difficult road to get Anna fit and well and through the treatment, because of how harsh it was likely to be on her little body.

The family were told Anna could need long breaks between the five rounds of treatment and warned it could take a year to get her through the treatment – then another year for doctors to monitor her.

However, Anna has bravely battled through each round, and recovered quickly each time – meaning her fifth and final round of immunotherapy started last Wednesday.

“It really has been quite hard watching Anna going through these treatment cycles,” said mother Keeley. “It is fair to say we weren’t aware of how gruelling it can be. But, like always, Anna has amazed us. She has for her entire life. Always keeping that smile on her face.

“They – and us – are amazed at how quickly and how well she is getting through it, avoiding the long delays we were expecting due to both her response to the treatment and also the challenges of the coronavirus situation and lockdown. “On June 29 she will have another full set of scans, which we desperately hope will be fine. Then her treatment will be complete.

“We’re delighted to say that because Anna has coped with treatment so well, without any complications, extra treatment or emergency admissions, the money raised so far has covered her treatment and there are no further costs.”

The family were first told they would need regular follow-up visits to New York for at least four years but this has been revised following Anna’s remarkable progress.

“They’ve now said we can continue regular monitoring, check ups and scans remotely as long as it’s with a hospital that they can communicate effectively with and receive quick results from,” says Keeley.

“Unfortunately, this isn’t possible under the NHS so we’re contacting private hospitals, but it will cost significantly less to do than regularly returning to the US.

“Any amounts remaining in Anna’s fund or further donations received will be used to support ongoing care and provide a safety net for unexpected future costs.”

But before the family do hop on a plane back to Blighty, they also have another American road trip planned for another medical issue, not for Anna but her sister.

“Ellen has also been dealing with her own health issues recently,” says Keeley. “In late November while we were in the thick of fundraising for Anna’s treatment, we found out that Ellen has scoliosis, curvature of the spine.

“It was a huge shock to us all and we found it difficult to deal with the prospect of another of our children having medical problems.

“We met with surgeons in the UK, then here in New York and we were facing the prospect of either very long waiting lists on the NHS which would significantly affect the overall outcomef the surgery or having to raise £240,000 for surgery in New York.

“On top of Anna’s cancer, it’s been tough. But through an amazing lady, Barbara, at the Candlelighters NYC cancer charity, we had an introduction to a wonderful family from Dallas.

One happened to be a nurse for a top scoliosis surgeon and, to cut a long and remarkable story short, Ellen has been approved for funded surgery in Dallas on July 14.

“We are overwhelmed by the support and kindness from so many people. It is impossible to put into words how grateful we are. Really difficult times have shown us how much good there is in the world.

“So if Anna’s scan results are all good at the end of June we’ll be saying goodbye to the wonderful city of New York and driving the 1,500 miles to Texas for another new chapter in our crazy lives.

“Anna will have follow-up appointments there and we can hopefully return home in September with two healthy children. “Thank you again to everyone. We are so grateful.”

Source: Read Full Article