The parents of a four-year-old girl with advanced cancer are asking for help to get their daughter to America for pioneering treatment.

Four-year-old Maysaa Arrami, from Burnley, was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma a rare and highly aggressive form of childhood cancer at the end of March 2020, just as the country was plunged into lockdown.

Maysaa had become very clingy and went off certain foods before her mother, Ihssane Arrami noticed her daughters lips were turning blue and her stomach was swollen.

Ihssane took her to the GP who referred Maysaa to a cardiologist but due to long wait times for referrals, her father Osama Arrami decided to take to her to Burnley General Hospital urgent care centre.

The doctor sent her to Royal Blackburn Hospital, where the doctors further referred her to Manchester Childrens Hospital who returned a diagnosis of stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma.

Osama said: At that point I didnt quite understand. I am not even sure the word tumour was used.

The penny never really dropped at that point. The doctor could see that and elaborated and at that point I just broke down. It was an emotional experience.

Maysaa was put on chemotherapy, receiving five rounds before having surgery where they managed to remove about 95 per cent of the tumour.

She then had a further session of chemo before having a stem cell transplant which led her to developing mucositis, an inflamed mouth which is a common side effect of the therapy.

Osama said: Its been really, really difficult to just see our daughter have to endure the treatment and the sad effects that came with it.

She was asking us why her hair was falling out or why we had shaved it.

Some of the drugs would change her behaviour and so she was more anxious or she would be quite angry.

Generally, she wasnt eating so she had to have tubes put in her nose.

Maysaa will now have to have undergo 14 days of radiation therapy and six months of immunotherapy.

Osama said it is difficult to think that he and his wife are nursing Maysaa back to health so she is able to have another round of treatment done.

He said: We are nursing her back to health ready for the next battle she has to undergo.

When we give ourselves the time to think about it, its quite upsetting.

All we are doing is getting her back to a point where she can have the treatment.

The treatment is working and now the family are asking for help fundraising so that they can travel to America several times over two years for a clinical trial which they hope will keep the cancer away.

If the cancer does return, there is a very poor chance of survival. High-risk neuroblastoma carries a high chance of returning therefore we want Maysaa to receive this treatment as soon as possible after her end of UK treatment scans. Osama concluded.

If you wish to help the family you can do so by donating on their page on the Solving Kids Cancer website and searching for 'Maysaa'.

Read the original:
Four-year-old girl with stage four cancer trying to get to America for clinical trial - Lancashire Telegraph