‘We need a miracle’: Cancer signs seen on girl’s new liver

In a story of heartbreak and hope, the latest results for three-yearold Greta Marofke are devastating.

Despite what appeared to be a successful liver transplant and chemotherapy treatment, spots were found on Greta’s liver last week. Her mother, Lindsey Marofke, said they are almost certainly cancer.

“She doesn’t know what is going on,” said Marofke. “Greta has been feeling fantastic and playing all the time. She runs wherever she goes and has been enjoying craft time here at the Ronald McDonald house and playing in the park.”

“It’s hard for me. (I’m) trying so hard to stay positive but the dark thoughts keep creeping in.”

Greta is battling a rare liver cancer called Hepatoblastoma, which is found in fewer than one in a million children. She was diagnosed in 2015 and has since undergone numerous rounds of chemotherapy, operations and a liver transplant in Cincinnati, Ohio, last month.

The girl was recovering well, until the discouraging results.

“Greta had started chemo again after her transplant, so the fact that her cancer has spread while on chemo is very scary. This was not something we or the doctors expected to happen,” Marofke wrote in a Facebook post for the group Greta’s Guardians. “Cancer is relentless and I hate it.”

But, in classic Marofke spirit, they aren’t giving up — and neither are Greta’s teams in Calgary and Cincinnati.

“We are going to try a drug that has had some success with stopping growth in these tumours with the hope we can remove them surgically with brand-new technology,” said Marofke. “That is what we are hanging on to right now.” “We need a miracle.” The treatment and associated costs — more than $1 million — will not be covered by Alberta Health Care, according to Marofke. Greta is being treated in Ohio by a pediatric oncologist who specializes in her type of cancer. The same treatment was not available in Canada.

Since early January, a GoFundMe page created to help raise funds for the family, has brought in $307,883 of the $500,000 goal. Donations are still being accepted and can be made there.

“We continue to feel humbled and overwhelmed with the support we receive.”

Greta Marofke, a three year-old city girl, recovers after a life-saving liver transplant in Cincinnati. The young girl is battling hepatoblastoma, a rare form of liver cancer. Her family is raising funds for her treatment.