Our Little Miss Sunshine is 11 years cancer-free after coming back from the dead
Fabulous Phoebe was given a one in five chance of surviving disease. Now she raises thousands for charity
BRAVE teenager Phoebe Macaskill is celebrating 11 years of being cancer-free – after being given a one-in-five chance of surviving past the age of seven.
Her parents Rona and Chris hailed it “a miracle” their “Little Miss Sunshine” is still here after a tumour wrapped itself around her aorta, the disease spread to 95 per cent of her bones and she needed more than 60 blood transfusions to keep her alive.
Medics warned even if she did pull through, the cancer would likely return with a worse prognosis. They also feared her treatment would leave her with long-term heart and mobility problems, poor kidney function and hearing loss.
But Phoebe, who was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma when she was two, is now like any healthy 14-year-old.
While most girls her age would shudder at the thought of losing their hair, after 11 years in remission, she has had her 10in-long blonde locks shaved off to raise thousands of pounds for other kids with the disease.
She said: “I don’t remember anything from when I was in hospital but last year I was thinking of stuff I could do to give back to the charities that helped me and my family, so I decided to shave my hair off.
“I quite like it – it’s way easier to look after and a lot lighter.”
Rona, 42, and Chris, 48, of Abriachan, near Loch Ness, feared they’d have to take their daughter to the US for immunotherapy if the cancer returned so, along with family and friends, raised £66,000.
But Phoebe no longer needs the money, which was kept in trust funds by Solving Kids Cancer charity, and the family donated it to fund research into neuroblastoma and treatment for young patients.
Rona said: “It’s amazing Phoebe doesn’t need the money but although immunotherapy is available in the UK, often families still need to pay for treatment outside the NHS.
“Research is poorly funded because of the low numbers who get it but it’s needed as it is such a nasty cancer. It just took over Phoebe so quickly.
“In some ways it feels like a lifetime ago. But we kept a diary every day for her to show her what she went through.”
Phoebe’s cancer started in her left adrenal gland and spread to her lymph nodes, bone marrow and 95 per cent of her bones. At one point, doctors had to give Phoebe the horse tranquilliser ketamine as her pain was so severe.
She had a nine-hour op to remove the initial tumour as well as 80 days of chemo and 14 sessions of radiotherapy.
Phoebe also needed a lifesaving stem cell transplant. She spent a fortnight on full life support after developing sepsis and needed about five blood transfusions a day to keep her alive. She also twice went into cardiac arrest.
Rona, also mum to Jude, 18, Laina, 17, and Ellis, 11, said: “It’s a miracle she’s still here. There were times we thought we were going to lose her. But she’s just amazing – and she’s stilltill Little Miss Sunshine.
“I don’t think we canan ever say never it won’tn’t come back but we hopepe not but it’s incredible she has no side effects at all.l. “We’re all so proud off her.” Phoebe has already raised £6500 for Neuroblastoma UK and Clic Sargent, while her hair will be donated to the Little Princess Trust, which provides real wigs for kids who have lost hair through cancer treatment and other illnesses.
To support her fundraising, visit www.justgiving.com/ team/Beboldbebald