Over €250k raised to treat child with rare cancer in US

The parents of a girl battling cancer have raised over €250,000 for her treatment in the US.

At 15-months-old, Alice Turner, from Drogheda, Co Louth, was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma — the same cancer as Tiny Dancer Lily-Mae Morrison.

While the campaign surpassed their initial €200,000 target, fundraising efforts are ongoing.

Alice’s uncle Cormac Bohane said: “We are continuing to fundraise as a contingency should other trial treatments be required. If they are not required, all surplus money raised will go to another similar charity.”

Neuroblastoma is an extremely rare cancer that affects the sympathetic nervous system. There are around 10 cases in Ireland each year.

In December, Alice was admitted to hospital after a routine check-up raised some concerns. An ultrasound revealed she had a tumour on her kidney which needed to be operated on immediately.

Her mother Lyndsey said she had surgery to remove the tumour before Christmas. “It was a six-hour operation — the tumour was the size of a grapefruit. On Christmas Eve they told us that it was neuroblastoma. The surgeon was confident he’d gotten it all out but there were more tests to make sure it hadn’t spread. We went home that day not knowing what we were facing into — it was the worst Christmas, just waiting.”

Earlier this year, Alice started a programme which included chemotherapy, a stem cell transplant, radiotherapy, differentiation treatment and immunotherapy. This therapy makes Alice physically sick and also has potentially serious long-term side effects.

Because of a genetic abnormality in the tumour cells, Alice’s disease is even more aggressive than normal. This means her form of cancer is harder to cure.

A medical trial in America using a drug called DFMO has raised hopes for Alice’s future with promising results in the prevention of relapse.

Alice’s family and friends launched the ‘A Chance for Alice’ campaign to raise funds for the toddler.

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To donate, go to www. idonate.ie/achanceforalice