Dulcie loves listening to songs by Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber and these will often be played on repeat during the day, especially when in hospital.
Prior to her diagnosis, Dulcie had a swollen tummy and had been treated for impacted faecal matter however the swelling didnt go away. Dulcies parents pushed for further answers, initially believing the swelling may be due to intolerances like coeliac or lactose.
On Thursday 9th December 2021, Dulcies parents were given the devastating news that she had high-risk neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive childhood cancer that has a 40-50% chance of long-term survival at diagnosis.
Never in a million years did we suspect a tumour/cancer to be found and we had never heard of neuroblastoma. My brave and beautiful little monkey was diagnosed with stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma, and it came completely out of the dark," says mum Debbie.
Dulcies family are fundraising for potentially lifesaving treatment, either to get their daughter into remission or to try and keep the cancer away if her frontline treatment goes to plan. This could cost hundreds of thousands of pounds
Dulcie started chemotherapy treatment in December 2021 as the first stage of frontline treatment and had nine rounds in total. In March 2022, Dulcie had an 11-hour surgery to remove her tumour, which weighed 1.2kgs. She then received further chemotherapy. Her next scans showed the chemotherapy hadn't worked as hoped, and her cancer had not only increased in intensity but had spread.
In July 2022, Dulcie started BIT chemotherapy, which is a combination of drugs used for patients classed as relapsed/refractory. The aim was for the new combination of chemotherapy to stabilise the disease. Dulcies reassessment scans showed that the disease had stabilised, and no new spots were showing. Dulcie continued to receive BIT chemotherapy.
In October, Dulcies scans showed stable disease which meant she was eligible to enrol on the hu3F8 trial at Leeds Childrens Hospital. Dulcie is continuing with the trial and her bone marrow and soft tissue remains completely clear and her disease stable with no further progression.
I feel like Ive failed my daughter and I know its beyond my control but I should be able to protect her from anything but this I cant and it breaks my heart to see her going through this!
Dulcies family are raising funds for further treatment, either to get their daughter into remission or to try and keep the cancer away if treatment does go to plan. This could cost hundreds of thousands of pounds.
We have only just begun Dulcies fight so have plenty of time to raise the much-needed funds, says Debbie.
There are many ways you can help Dulcie: by making a personal donation; by sharing and following her story on Facebook and Instagram , holding a fundraising event; getting sponsored to take on a challenge.
To donate by text, send DULCIE followed by any whole amount up to £20 to 70085. This will cost your donation plus your standard network charge. It wont matter if you leave a space before the number, if you include a £ sign or whether you use upper or lower case.
You can make a donation via this page.
If youd like to help to support Dulcies campaign, please get in touch with the fundraising team on 0207 284 0800 and fundraising@solvingkidscancer.org.uk
Funds raised will go towards helpingDulcie and herfamily. IfDulcie no longer needs the funds or is in remission five years post the end of successful treatment, the funds will be used to support other children and families affected by neuroblastoma through our activities. For children with high-risk neuroblastoma, like Dulcie, the survival rate is much lower than other childhood cancers. Upon relapse, this rate reduces even further
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