Solving Kids’ Cancer UK
Kayla's Campaign
Five-year-old Kayla was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma in May 2021. Kayla completed frontline treatment for neuroblastoma in October 2022, however, further scans showed disease progression.
Story
Kayla is a very happy and lively five-year-old from Norwich. She loves Minnie Mouse, Frozen, Peppa Pig and all things pink! She adores her big brothers, Riley and Kory, and loves spending time with them.
In May 2021 Kayla was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive childhood cancer that has a 40-50% chance of long-term survival at diagnosis.
Kaylas parents, Stacey and Wayne asked for your help to raise funds for Kayla to enrol on the bivalent vaccine clinical trial in New York, which aims to stop her neuroblastoma from returning after she completed frontline treatment. Once Kayla completed treatment in October 2022, the family travelled to New York to enrol her on the trial, however, Kayla at the point of access was sadly not eligible and further scans showed disease progression.
Kayla is now receiving treatment back in the UK and the family are continuing to fundraise for future treatment, either to get Kayla into remission or to try and keep the cancer away if her treatment does go to plan.
Kayla's Story
In the weeks leading up to her diagnosis, Kayla had complained of pains in her leg and was struggling to put weight on it so was taken by her parents to A&E. After a few days and some swelling Kaylas pain wasnt getting any better so her parents took her back to the hospital for blood tests and an X-ray.
The following day the family were contacted by the doctor as her bloods had shown she had elevated infection levels. After being seen by multiple doctors, Kayla was admitted onto the childrens ward and taken for an MRI which identified she had malignancy in her bones. It was decided that the next step would be for Kayla to have a bone marrow aspirate. The family returned home for the weekend to try and celebrate Rileys birthday but were still fearful of what the results would be.
Going back home not knowing what was happening and trying hard to put a brave face on for our children, especially as it was Riley's birthday was awful. You never think this would happen to you and have no idea how you are going to manage or cope, says Stacey.
On Monday the family headed to Addenbrookes, hoping they would be able to return home the same day. Sadly, as they had feared the results were not good. They received the devastating news that their beautiful three-year-old daughter had cancer.
Monday the 17th of May our world came crashing down and we were hit with the news that Kayla had cancer. We struggled to make sense of it all. We were scared and confused, and our hearts were shattered, but we knew we had to stay strong for our three children, says mum Stacey.
On Wednesday 19th May it was confirmed that Kayla had stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma and she started aggressive frontline treatment straight away.
Treatment so far
Kayla has been so brave throughout her months of treatment. Since her diagnosis, she has endured chemotherapy, surgery, high dose chemotherapy, stem cell retrieval and radiotherapy and 5 cycles of immunotherapy.
Kayla has amazed us every step of the way. She takes everything in her stride and has the strength of an ox and courage like no other. She is such a happy little girl. She has adapted to having to spend lots of time in hospital but really misses her dad and her big brothers, says Stacey.
Kayla completed frontline treatment in October 2022 and her family travelled to New York to enrol Kayla on a clinical trial. Kayla had a bone marrow and PET scan in New York before starting the trial which sadly showed that she was not eligible for the vaccine trial. The family returned back to the UK and Kayla's 3 monthly scans at her treating hospital showed disease progression.
Since receiving this news, Kayla has started to receive BIT chemotherapy and will have reassessment scans after four cycles. The family hope to enrol Kayla on a trial based in Leeds with the aim to get her back into remission.
Fundraising campaign
Kaylas parents were fundraising to access the bivalent vaccine clinical trial in America once she completed her frontline treatment, however, Kayla at the point of access was sadly not eligible. The family are continuing to fundraise for future treatment, either to get Kayla into remission or to try and keep the cancer away if her treatment does go to plan.
We are asking for your support in helping us to fundraise as Kayla deserves the world, and we want to make sure she has every opportunity available to her to help make sure she can live a fulfilled life, says Stacey.
How you can help
There are many ways you can help Kayla: by making a personal donation; by sharing and following her story on Facebook or Instagram, holding a fundraising event; getting sponsored to take on a challenge.
To donate by text, send KAYLA 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 you'd like to help to support Kayla's campaign, please get in touch with the fundraising team on 0207 284 0800 and fundraising@solvingkidscancer.org.uk
Solving Kids' Cancer UK's children's fundraising campaigns
Funds raised will go towards helping Kayla and herfamily. If Kayla 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 Kayla, the survival rate is much lower than other childhood cancers. Upon relapse, this rate reduces even further.