BRAVE Aalish Naylor has started two types of chemotherapy and has had more radiotherapy after her cancer returned.
Aalish, eight, from Dodworth, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare form of childhood cancer which affects the nerve tissue, in December 2015 and has already undergone gruelling chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy.
Her parents Jo and Martin have since been told Aalish’s chances of survival are slim and are focussing on giving their daughter the best life they can.
Aalish had been taking an oral chemotherapy at home which seemed to be going well, until an MRI scan showed the disease had gathered in her skull.
Aalish had returned to school which she was enjoying, but is now being treated with two types of chemotherapy everyday for five days before having a three week break. She also had radiotherapy treatment at Weston Park Hospital yesterday.
Her mum Jo Naylor, 41, of Hawthorne Crescent, said: “Some of the cancer has come back again, I had a feeling it had.
“We only found out on Friday and have started treatment very quickly before it got too much for Aalish.
“The doctors are giving the chemotherapy to her at 100 per cent, they’ve not reduced it because they want to give it every opportunity to do what they want it to do.
“They want to target it as quickly as they can.”
She said Aalish wasn’t in pain, but had complained of headaches and was not eating much. But she said her blood levels seemed ok at the moment.
“We will just have to wait and see whether this first cycle hits her hard. The doctors have told me she may become neutropenic (where the body has a low number of the cells which attack infection) which means no school and we’ll have to be careful about where we go and keep her away from closed spaces.
“We’ll just have to wait and see. I don’t think this is as nicer a drug as she’s just been on.”
Despite the setback, Jo said Aalish had taken the news in her stride.
She added: “She took it all right. We had mentioned the bump on her head and I chatted to her about it so we knew there was a possibility.
“But, as ever, she has picked herself back up again and takes whatever they throw at her. She’s marvellous.
“After all the months of doing this, you’d expect your child to say ‘no more, not again’ but no matter what they say to us or to her, she just goes with the flow.”
Jo said Aalish will most likely had two cycles of chemotherapy at least and may have more depending on how she responds.
