‘HELP OUR LITTLE WARRIOR’
WHEN nearly a dozen pupils at a primary school came down with a nasty sickness bug, little Mia Chambers was thought to be one of the unfortunate victims.
But after a visit to a GP, who then referred the schoolgirl to her nearest hospital, the condition was far more severe than her parents ever imagined.
Now a campaign has begun to raise enough money to send the five-yearold to the USA to give her vital treatment for her aggressive form of cancer.
Dad Josh Chambers, from Merthyr Tydfil, said Mia was unwell in April 2016 after suffering with vomiting and bouts of fatigue.
“She was lethargic now and again, but she was getting back to her normal self,” said Josh, who thought Mia had the same illness as her classmates.
“Then her mum Kirsty felt a little lump in her belly. We went to our GP and he didn’t know what it was so he referred us for X-rays and tests.”
To Kirsty and Josh’s horror, the tests confirmed the lump was cancerous and she was transferred to the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales in Cardiff. Further tests confirmed the lump was Stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma, an aggressive form of the disease which attacks the nerves.
“It’s a really fast-growing cancer, so it’s often picked up when it’s at the later stages,” added Josh. “And that’s exactly what happened to Mia, but luckily it hadn’t spread to her bone marrow.”
Mia’s primary tumour was attached to her right adrenal gland and she had secondary growths in her ovary and liver. To try to get rid of the tumour and bring Mia back into remission, she started an aggressive course of treatment.
She underwent eight rounds of chemotherapy, which shrank the tumour and then had one of her kidneys and an ovary removed. Three weeks later, Mia had high dose chemotherapy and needed a stem cell transplant.
After this doctors discovered adhesions had formed around the stomach, which meant Mia was unable to eat properly and needed more surgery.
But Josh said Mia has been a “little warrior” throughout and has rarely complained about spending so much time in hospital.
“Mia is a very affectionate child and even though she’s young she loves mothering people. I guess she’s had to grow up more quickly than other children her age,” said Josh.
“She’s just got on with it. We call her the Rainbow Warrior because that’s the name of the ward she’s on.”
The family also heaped praise on NHS staff at the children’s hospital who have made their lengthy spells far less taxing than they envisaged.
Cancer experts say patients with neuroblastoma have a high rate of relapsing – and the survival rate for relapsed neuroblastoma is very low.
The family believe her best chance of avoiding a relapse is to visit the US to access a clinical trial for additional cancer therapy.
“We would be fools not to try this,” Josh added. “Children are going out to the States and are surviving years later.”
To donate go to www.justgiving. com/ campaigns/ charity/ solving kids cancer/ mi a chambers