Fearless Florence ✨

There is a life before Florence’s cancer diagnosis, and a life after.

Before, life was unknowingly easy. We were carefree in ways we never realised at the time. Then, in an instant, on 18th November 2024, everything changed forever.

Nothing can prepare you for hearing that your one-year-old daughter has cancer. That what we had been repeatedly reassured over several weeks was severe constipation is actually a 30cm tumour in her tummy, with disease in her spine.

Florence was immediately admitted to the Oncology Ward at Birmingham Children’s Hospital and was soon diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma, MYC-N amplified, a rare and aggressive childhood cancer that develops in nerve cells.

Over the last 18 months (26th November 2024 to 17th April 2026), we have watched Florence endure more than any child should.

She has undergone intensive frontline NHS treatment, receiving 8 cycles of induction chemotherapy, a 12-hour surgery, 2 cycles of high-dose chemotherapy, 2 stem cell transplants, 12 days of radiotherapy, and 5 cycles of immunotherapy.

Over the course of her treatment, we spent 297 days in hospital on and off. At times, Florence became so unwell that she required intensive care and ventilation.

We have cuddled her day and night during hospital stays, held our breath through surgery and procedures under general anaesthetic, celebrated small victories that were actually enormous hurdles, and carried fears we never knew existed before.

We have been broken and rebuilt more times than we can count, and we are forever changed.

Yet throughout every phase of treatment, she continued to smile, surprise us, and show a strength like no other. We are so incredibly proud of our brave girl.

Her end of treatment scans are stable, and we are incredibly thankful that Florence is now at home, thriving and enjoying life as the happy, cheeky little girl she deserves to be.

But we are also painfully aware that for many of the children and families we have built relationships with along the way, this is not their reality.

High-risk neuroblastoma leaves families like ours living with uncertainty, and the fear of relapse never truly goes away.

The next step for Florence was a two-year maintenance treatment called DFMO, which aims to help reduce or delay relapse. This was previously available free of charge through an Expanded Access Programme, but sadly that programme was withdrawn a week before she was eligible to start.

DFMO is not part of standard NHS treatment, and families make different choices following frontline therapy, including watch and wait or relapse prevention options.

Though we have made the decision to try to pursue DFMO for Florence. As a result, we are now trying to raise approximately £100,000 to self-fund this treatment.

We know there are no guarantees. Some children never relapse after treatment, whilst others sadly do. There is no way of knowing which path Florence will take. DFMO cannot guarantee her cancer will never return, but after everything she has endured, we want to know we have explored every possible option available to her.

DFMO offers what every neuroblastoma family holds onto — hope. Hope that relapse can be prevented or delayed, and hope that Florence can continue growing up to be in our lives forever.

When you have spent 18 months watching your child fight for their life, hope is not something you walk away from easily.

It is a lot to reach out publicly and share our story, but we are asking for help to give Florence access to this treatment.

If you can donate, share, attend an event, or support in any way, we will be forever grateful. Every single act of kindness means more than words can ever say.

Cancer has taken away so much certainty, but it has also taught us that the ordinary moments are often the most extraordinary.

Cancer does not define who Florence is or who she will grow up to be. She wants to play cafés and shops, see her friends at the park, eat cake and ice cream, watch Paw Patrol and Peppa Pig, and cuddle up with us on the sofa.

She simply wants to be Florie.

She is our brave, beautiful, strong, clever and resilient little girl.

She is growing into the little girl that her tiny body has fought so hard to become.

Our greatest hope is that one day neuroblastoma will be just one chapter in Florence’s story, not the chapter that defines it.

Thank you for taking the time to read Florence’s story, for sharing it, and for helping us give her the very best chance for the future.

With love and gratitude,

Anna, Dom & our Florie xx