Steph is willing to go the extra mile

Fundraising day organised for little Rebecca

A determined mum is pulling out all the stops to raise as much money as she can for a little girl battling cancer.

Steph Hill’s three- year- old daughter Skyler attends Bright Starts nursery, in Inchinnan, along with Rebecca McKenna, who was diagnosed with the rare children’s cancer neuroblastoma in January.

Rebecca’s dad Chris and mum Vicky are desperately trying to raise £140,000 to take the three-year-old to America for a drug trial, which should decrease the chance of relapse and the cancer returning.

Steph was touched by what’s happening to Rebecca and her parents and has organised a fundraising day at St Ninian’s Church Hall on Ferguslie Avenue on Saturday, June 2.

She’s also been gifted a brand new Nintendo Switch by Tesco Linwood which she’ll raffle off on her Facebook page to raise £1,000 and she’s also got a bag pack organised at the supermarket on Tuesday, July 10.

She said: “The fun day has just got bigger and bigger each week. Hundreds of prizes have been added to my tombola and raffles. I also have other entertainment coming along.

“It’s going to be a very fun and hopefully very successful day.

“Linwood Tesco has very kindly given me a brand new Nintendo Switch to raise more funds.

“They’ve also agreed for me to hold a bag packing event so that’s another day that I’m looking forward to.

“Lynda Downes is the charity coordinator from Tesco and I cannot thank her enough for everything she has arranged. They’ve also offered to donate crisps, juice and fresh fruit for my fun day.”

At St Ninian’s Church, there will be an inflatable city which includes walk on water, gladiator, a boxing ring and large slides. The raffle prizes include hair treatment, body treatments, gym passes, Zumba classes and hampers.

Other fun things for kids on the day includes a bouncy castle, face painter, cake sale, hot drinks and juice for the children, a sweetie cart and toy sale.

Chris and Vicky McKenna launched the Raise for Rebecca fundraising page in March and it recently reached the £100,000 milestone.

Rebecca has stage four neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive disease that affects around 100 children each year in the UK.

It has the highest mortality rate than any other children’s cancer.

Undergoing intense treatment over a 12 to 18- month period, Rebecca is currently receiving 90 days of Rapid COJEC Chemotherapy.

After that, she will have surgery to remove the main tumour, followed by another round of high- dose chemo, a stem cell transplant and finally three weeks of radiotherapy.

While NHS treatment could remove the cancer, there is an 80 per cent change that she may relapse in the next two years.

Her parents found an American drug trial called DFMO which would give her a 90 per cent change of not relapsing. To pay for the trial, they need to raise £140,000 plus more to cover flights and accommodation.

Raise for Rebecca is now welcoming donations via bank transfer to avoid charges from JustGiving.

The name is Miss Rebecca McKenna, the account number is 23995950 and the sort code is 090129.

• The fun day event page is at facebook. com/ events/231845560889642/

To keep updated on Rebecca’s journey, follow Raise for Rebecca on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.