Brave dancer Lily
This brave 10-year-old won’t let a life-threatening illness stop her from doing what she does best
As Lily Douglas gripped her first place trophy tightly and smiled for the cameras, the 10-year-old dancing superstar breathed a sigh of relief. Not because the competition was over and she had won, but because she could finally rest the aching shoulder giving her grief all day.
“Lily was at a dance competition in Helensburgh, Scotland, when she thought she pulled something in her shoulder,” explains her mum Jane, from Perth, Scotland. “Injuries in dance are pretty normal and I wasn’t too worried, so I told Lily to rest it and see how she felt in the morning.”
But the next day, when Lily’s mum felt the lump on her shoulder, she took her to the doctor immediately. After multiple tests and referrals, Lily was diagnosed as having stage four Ewing’s sarcoma – an aggressive and rare form of bone cancer that spread to her shoulder, lungs and left leg. Survival rates are very low for patients at such an advanced stage of the disease, with only 15-30 per cent living more than five years.
“I didn’t think in a million years it’d be cancer – Lily danced up to 30 hours a week, she couldn’t have been fitter or healthier,” Jane says, still shocked by the heartbreaking diagnosis given in April last year, when Lily was just nine. “When I told her she had cancer, she broke down and was so fearful she was going to lose her hair or die.”
ANOTHER CRUSHING BLOW
While trying to cope with the shocking diagnosis, the doctors delivered more crushing news to the family, explaining they may have to remove Lily’s leg and shoulder blade. Sadly, her promising dancing career – that had already seen her win more than 80 trophies in every genre from street dance to freestyle – could be over.
“When I was given the news Lily had a tumour, I had no idea how bad this was, how her life was hanging by a thread,” Jane, 48, says. “For Lily to lose her leg and shoulder blade would’ve spelled the end of everything she lived for.”
But to everyone’s surprise, the determined youngster refused to let her diagnosis beat her. She travelled to the nearby city of Edinburgh to undergo gruelling rounds of chemo and surgery. And rather than give up on her dancing, Lily trained harder than ever before so she could get back into her dancing shoes and compete in an upcoming competition.
“It was almost like her cancer made her more determined than ever to dance,” the proud mum says. “She shaved her hair off on the Friday and competed on the Sunday – with a bald head – where she won two massive trophies. After everything we’d been through, it was the most incredible boost to see her happy and doing what she loved.”
LITTLE FIGHTER
Things were looking up for the tiny dancer, who was told that she wouldn’t have to have her leg removed. But in October, after seven rounds of chemo and the week after her 10th birthday, she went into theatre. Due to the position of the tumour, doctors had no choice but to remove her entire left shoulder blade, meaning Lily can no longer lift her arm.
“The operation had gone well in terms of removing the tumour, but there was almost nothing left of her shoulder – it was like her arm was tied to her body with a length of rope,” Jane says.
To everyone’s amazement, three days after her surgery, Lily was fit enough to go home. Two days after that, she had a spring in her step and was back in the dance studio, practising her moves.
“Within five days, she was only taking one paracetamol to help with the pain. I’ve taken more for a sore throat! No one could believe how strong she was,” Jane recalls.
A year and 118 intensive chemotherapy treatments later, Lily got the all-clear. “We were told on Friday the 13th she was cancer free. That day is supposed to be unlucky, but it was the best day of our lives,” Jane says.
Despite the good news, Lily is now spending time in Jacksonville, Florida, for proton therapy – a type of radiation treatment to kill the remaining rogue cancer cells. “The treatment in Jacksonville is the best,”
‘She shaved her hair off on Friday and competed on Sunday’
Jane explains. “This kind of therapy is often used instead of radiotherapy and targets the tumour and breaks it up. It will also protect her heart and prevent heart failure.”
The 12-week program will be long and, at times, painful, but Lily will be able to do the one thing she loves – dance.
“Lily is the funniest, smartest and happiest child and nothing ever holds her back. No doubt she will find time to fit in a few routines at the local dance school,” Jane says, with a smile. “We couldn’t be more proud of our little girl – she is such a fighter.”