We’ve a few months to save Flora’s life
Fund aims to raise money for vital cancer treatment
DESPERATE parents have told of their race against time to raise £312,000 to save their daughter’s life.
Flora Gentleman, three, was diagnosed with the devastating cancer neuroblastoma in her stomach last year.
However, a new treatment called bivalent vaccine is being trialled in New York and has been successful in preventing relapses of the condition.
Flora’s parents Steph and Jamie, of Aberlady, East Lothian, are trying to raise the cash to get her on the drug trial in August after she completes her NHS chemotherapy treatment here.
Steph said: “I had never heard of neuroblastoma, we never knew anything about childhood cancers.
“When we were waiting to find out what kind of cancer Flora had doctors were talking about leukaemia being one of the possibilities.
“The consultant was talking positively and saying they could cure it but when they said neuroblastoma there was a change of tone. I was really, really scared. It was terrifying.
“Neuroblastoma is a really aggressive cancer with a high chance of relapsing.”
There have already been trials of the drug for a fixed period of a year but now it is being increased to three years and Flora will become part of that trial if her parents can raise the money.
The first trip will be for three or four weeks but treatment will not be able to begin if she has relapsed.
That is why it is essential they fly out shortly after Flora finishes her current course of immunotherapy and chemotherapy on the NHS.
In the past year she has had eight rounds of chemotherapy, followed by a seven-hour operation where the whole tumour was removed.
That was followed by high dose chemotherapy, where Flora was given an adult dose with a stem cell transplant and was in isolation for three weeks over her third birthday.
That was followed by three rounds of radiotherapy and she is now undergoing immunotherapy, which is scheduled to end in June.
And as if the tough treatment regimen was not enough, on May 2 she was rushed to hospital after developing sepsis. Steph said within an hour her temperature spiked and she turned blue.
In hospital the central line from which her drugs are administered was removed because it had become infected. She needed CPR to save her life.
Steph recalled: “We were really scared but within 24 hours she was back to running about and being bossy. It was amazing how she bounced back.
“We didn’t even have time to recover and process it before she was back to her usual self.” The couple’s friends and family have rallied and have been saving for the treatment almost since her diagnosis was confirmed.
They have already raised £200,000 but they have just three months to raise the rest.
The couple have the backing of the child cancer charity Solving Kids Cancer.
To donate to Flora’s fund go to: www.solvingkidscancer.org.uk/ appeal/flora