‘rainbow warrior’ mia rings bell to celebrate all-clear
A GIRL from Merthyr Tydfil has been given the all-clear from cancer after years of treatment in Cardiff and the US.
Mia Chambers, known as “rainbow warrior” to her family and people who have followed her story online, was held up by her proud dad, Josh, as she rang the all-clear bell at Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital for Wales in Cardiff on Thursday.
Last year thousands of rainbowcoloured ribbons appeared around Wales, showing people’s support for Mia, now aged seven, and to raise awareness of her condition.
As well as her treatment in Cardiff, the family have made six trips to the US to DeVos Children’s Hospital in Michigan, where Mia was part of a trial for the ground-breaking drug, DFMO, which doctors said would increase her chances of survival by more than 30%.
In comparison to the serious impacts of chemotherapy or radiotherapy, the only minor side-effect Mia had from the six DFMO tablets she took each day was losing her eyelashes, something which shocked medical staff who expected to see a more severe reaction.
Her American doctors finally broke the news to the family that Mia was clear of cancer on September 12.
“She really is something special, she’s handled it all so well and progressed so quickly,” said Josh.
“I know a lot of families don’t get the support we’ve had, we’re very lucky in a bad situation.
“The first thing Mia asked (when she was given the all-clear) was ‘can I jump now?.’ And then she jumped all the way from the hospital doors to the car.”
Mia’s spine had been damaged because of a stem cell transplant she had as part of her treatment, but doctors have been impressed with her recovery and said she could now do whatever she liked.
Her parents, Josh and Kirsty, have already booked for her to go to a trampoline park.
“She wasn’t allowed to do any activity – no running, no jumping, no kids’ parties,” said Josh. “She doesn’t understand our relief, her issue was that she couldn’t go on her bike like every other kid.”
Mia was first diagnosed with high risk neuroblastoma, a rare cancer that mostly affects children, in 2016 when she was taken into hospital in Cardiff with a cancerous lump in her stomach.
She underwent surgery to remove one of her kidneys and had a stem cell transplant, as well as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which she finished in July 2017.
When Mia’s parents heard about the experimental treatment in the US they said they just had to make it happen for her, which they did, with the help of the charity Solving Kids’ Cancer, and more than £300,000 in crowd-funded donations.
“The last six weeks have been a blessing that we wouldn’t have had without the people around us getting behind us from day one,” added Josh.
The family will keep the remaining funds for five years in case Mia needs further treatment, but will donate any leftover money to charity or a family in need after that.
Since they uploaded the video yesterday of Mia ringing the bell, it’s been viewed 25,000 times and her Facebook page has been viewed 40,000 times.
Sometimes Mia’s supporters or curious children stop her in the street and ask her how she is.
“She can Google herself now and show people what she has been through,” added Josh.