Dad takes on Peru charity trek for Sheffield cancer ward

More than a year on and with the end of her treatment in sight, dad Jamie is set to take on a Peru charity trek and raise money for Sheffield Children’s to say thank you for Alice’s care.

Dad Jamie, 40, from Alfreton in Derbyshire said: “The month before she was diagnosed, she’d had a chest infection and chicken pox. Her tummy was becoming swollen and we noticed she was losing weight.

“We were transferred to Sheffield Children’s Hospital and Alice had an ultrasound scan which revealed a large mass in her abdomen and after a few weeks of tests and scans, we were devastated to find out Alice had a particularly aggressive form of neuroblastoma.”

Alice was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma, with a MCYN gene amplification, which meant the tumour was more likely to spread in the body and less likely to respond to treatment.

Following diagnosis Alice had an 80-day rapid course of chemotherapy to reduce the size of the tumour before a nine-hour operation to remove it. She is now going through therapies such as radiotherapy and immunotherapy and is looking ahead to finishing this treatment soon.

Jamie said: “To our amazement, just five days after the surgery, Alice was home and dancing around the living room!

“Alice has made our hearts burst with pride with the miraculous resilience she has shown so far. It’s hard to imagine many things tougher than witnessing your child endure what she has just to give her a chance at a life which you took for granted before. We call her ‘Alice the alley cat’ because she keeps bouncing back.”

Dad Jamie is determined to say thank you for the care she has received. He has signed up for The Children’s Hospital Charity’s 2020 overseas challenge, which will see him trek the Inca Trail in Peru and is due to take place in September.

Every penny raised will help The Children’s Hospital Charity transform the Cancer and Leukaemia ward.

Visit www.tchc.org.uk or call 0114 321 2470 to find out how to donate.