I’M ALL CLEAR!
Joy of cancer girl, 14, whose family raised £437,000 to pay for life saving operation in US
A SCOTTISH teenager fighting a rare type of cancer has finally been given the all-clear – only weeks after her family raised £340,000 for pioneering surgery in the US.
Kira Noble had been battling neuroblastoma for three years and faced seemingly endless rounds of gruelling treatment.
Despite doctors doing everything they could for the 14-year-old, they were unable to completely defeat the disease.
But thanks to a remarkable crowdfunding campaign by her family that raised a huge sum in a matter of weeks, Kira was able to receive life-saving surgery.
Last month her tumour was removed successfully after seven hours of treatment at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.
Having spent almost three weeks in the city, Kira and her mother, Aud, returned to their home in Edinburgh and received the all-clear by email on Thursday afternoon.
Mrs Noble, 51, said: ‘We are over the moon. However, I’m not surprised because we gave Kira the best possible chance with this surgeon. That is why we flew across the Atlantic for her to have the operation.
‘It is the best possible result that we could ever have hoped for at the moment, and it is fantastic news.’
Although Kira underwent surgery in the UK in January, all of the ‘glue-like’ mass from her right adrenal gland could not be removed. The tumour was also stuck to major blood vessels, making it life-threatening to remove it without specialist treatment.
The teenager’s condition captured the hearts of the public, and the Noble family managed to smash their £340,000 target by almost £100,000.
The huge sum was raised in six weeks through bake-sales, sponsored walks and runs, as well as other events arranged through her fundraising page.
The JustGiving page was set up in March, with Kira’s operation taking place last month.
A total of £437,000 was raised to pay for Kira’s trip. Mrs Noble said: ‘We just cannot thank the public enough. It covers me in goosebumps thinking about the magnitude of the total that has been raised.
‘There is money still pouring in, which is phenomenal. There are no words to sum up how thankful we are to everyone.
‘Kira is not on top form at the moment because she is suffering from some abdominal pains, but she is over the moon with the news.’
Despite getting the all-clear, Kira’s treatment is not over. The teenager starts her next round of chemotherapy in Edinburgh on Monday, with further treatment to follow.
Mrs Noble said that although there is no neuroblastoma detectable on her scans, there could be tiny cells in her body that need to be destroyed.
She added: ‘We need to ensure any lingering neuroblastoma cells are killed off.’
There will be more treatment after the chemotherapy, and the family has not celebrated because Kira is still feeling unwell.
However, Mrs Noble revealed they have a dream destination in mind for a family holiday once the treatment is completed.
‘We’d absolutely love to go back to New York,’ she said.
More than 6,000 people have been following Kira’s progress on her Facebook campaign page. The family also received help from the Solving Kids Cancer charity.
‘We cannot thank the public enough’