Smiling Alisha took treatment in her stride

WITH her sparkling tiara, pretty dress and dazzling smile, Alisha Whyteside makes the perfect princess.

And she’ll be the belle of the ball next month, at a special party celebrating the fact she is alive and kicking after beating cancer.

Since being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia two years ago, the eight-year-old has faced some tough times.

More than 100 overnight stays in hospital, 21 blood transfusions, 23 general anaesthetics, seven bone marrow tests, 14 lumbar punctures and a whopping 822 doses of chemotherapy have been overcome.

It’s more medical treatment than most adults will experience in a lifetime.

But the brave youngster, from Cumbernauld, has taken it in her stride – and come out smiling on the other side.

Last week marked her final cancer treatment – and Alisha, who was diagnosed within a week of showing symptoms by her quick-thinking GP, couldn’t be happier.

“It’s hard to put into words how it felt finally reaching that last treatment because it always felt so far away,” dad Mark said.

“It’s been a gruelling couple of years, but Alisha just got on with it. It’s her fighting spirit that has seen us all through.”

Mark and wife Gillian, both 29, couldn’t let the milestone moment pass without celebration, so they’ve organised Alisha’s Ball – an opportunity to hail the heroic efforts of their daughter and raise money for the charities which helped her through the ordeal.

Alisha’s symptoms included complaining of sore legs, which her parents put down to growing pains. But when she started limping, developed unexplained bruising and turned very pale, they rushed her to the doctor.

“When the doctor said it was leukaemia, we were absolutely stunned,” Mark recalled. “Gillian and I have been together since we were teenagers and I think that was the first time she’d ever seen me cry. I was completely broken.

“Alisha’s spent the best part of the last two years in and out of hospital and had to grow up long before her time.”

On Thursday, Scottish Power – which previously arranged for Alisha to meet her idol Peter Andre – organised a magical pamper day to kit out Alisha and sisters Leah, 11, Lucy, 10 and Olivia, 5, in dresses fit for princesses ahead of the party.

“She had an absolutely amazing day,” said Mark. “What the future holds, nobody knows, but we’re looking forward to a normal, happy family life.”