Lemonade stand cancer victim dies

A YOUNG cancer patient who started a lemonade stand to raise money for research, sparking a fund-raising campaign that is on target to raise a million dollars, has died, aged eight.

Alexandra Scott died peacefully at her Philadelphia home, said her father, Jay Scott. “She opened her eyes for the first time that day just before she passed away,” he said. “She looked out at the trees. In the past she’s been in a lot of pain, but at the end she had no pain, which is what she worried about.”

Alex, diagnosed just before her first birthday with neuroblastoma, an aggressive form of childhood cancer, decided to set up a lemonade stand to raise money for treatment. She took in almost £1,000 that first year, and a series of stands had raised a total of £100,000 after four years.

In June, lemonade stand fund-raisers were set up in all 50 states, as well as in Canada and France, and Alexandra and her family appeared on Oprah Winfrey’s TV programme

Alex hoped that her Alex’s Lemonade Stand charity would raise one million dollars (£547,000) this year for cancer research.

The effort has reached about £410,000, and Volvo of North America had pledged to hold a fund-raising event in the autumn to ensure that the goal would be reached, said Jay Scott. Since June, Alex’s quality of life had dropped off, and her health had severely deteriorated in the last few days. Still, she remained determined to push forward, family members said.