This is Jack…or Jack Jack as he’s known to his family and friends.

In April of 2023, he was like any other curious, boundary pushing three year old. He wanted to be a dolphin when he grew up. He was happiest when playing with his brother Ted, making cups of tea in his kitchen and watching old school Scooby Doo and Smurfs. His favourite colour was yellow.

Then he came home with a limp.

Three weeks later, four doctors walked into our room to advise us our baby bear had stage IV cancer. Neuroblastoma.

Whilst Jack had been playing, swimming, sleeping, laughing and giving “huggles”, his nerve cells had failed to mature properly, resulting in a mandarin-sized tumour growing near his adrenal gland and kidney. From there, it spread to his lymph nodes, bone marrow and into his bones, from the top of his beautiful head, down to his toes.

In May 2023 he commenced one of the most gruelling treatment protocols a child can endure: six months in hospital, eight rounds of chemotherapy, an 8-hour surgery, a bone marrow transplant, and 12 rounds of radiation. He has suffered horrible side effects through neuropathy, loss of fine motor skills, reduced eyesight and he will be infertile. Yet throughout it all, he still walked into hospital jauntily singing his favourite tune: "don’t give up, don’t give in, just get up and try again".

Heartbreakingly, those became words to live by as Jack relapsed in 2024, and again in 2025.

Each time we “tried again” with a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy that mercifully resolved his cancer quickly and effectively. However, Jack struggles to remain cancer free once he completes treatment (referred to as ‘chronic’ cancer as opposed to a ‘wildfire’ type).

Then, in January 2026, on a flight to New York to see his treating team, Jack’s jaw suddenly became swollen and extremely painful. After being rushed in for an MRI upon arrival in NYC, our worst fears were confirmed: Jack has relapsed, for a third time.

We are unable to return to our home in Sydney and so our family is divided across continents.

Encouragingly, Jack has been accepted into a promising precision based approach to treating the cancer, which is now in his jaw and arm.

The PEACH trial is a personalised immune-cell therapy trial. It comprises of two key parts:

Molecular Guided Therapy: Using tissue extracted from Jack’s tumour it is compared to FDA approved drugs to determine drugs that would best attack Jack’s cancer head on. These drugs are reviewed by a panel of oncologists and, once agreed upon, are given to Jack in 21 or 28-day cycles.

Personalised Vaccine:

instead of using a general drug made in a factory, a personalised vaccine is made using Jack’s own immune cells!

Doctors take tumour material and extract the tumour’s mRNA (i.e. the tumour’s instruction manual) and load that mRNA into Jack’s dendritic cells. Dendritic cells are the immune system’s teachers. Their job is to say: “This is the enemy. Learn this”.

Doctors then collect Jack’s T-cells. In a Florida laboratory, those T-cells are trained using the tumour mRNA information. The T-cells are multiplied and given back to Jack. These are custom-trained immune soldiers, specifically primed against Jack’s unique neuroblastoma.

The terrifying truth is that with every relapse, Jack’s chances of survival plummet to just 5%. This is not something we can accept. Jack has beaten the odds twice before and he’ll do it again this time!

So many people have generously asked how they can help us. This is how. Whilst the latest treatment plan is promising, it is also very expensive. Every single dollar donated helps ensure Jack’s ongoing treatment and increases his chances of survival, so thank you in advance for anything you are able to give.

Your generosity will be used to cover the cost of treatment and other hospital requirements, as well as flights between Australia and the US, plus accommodation and costs of living whilst we are there.

They say it takes a village to raise a child. Thank you for being part of Jack Jack’s village and for joining his fight for a lifetime. We can’t do this without you.

About Neuroblastoma and Childhood Cancer

● In Australia, Neuroblastoma represents the fifth highest incidence of childhood cancer in the G20

● Every year in Australia, 40 children are diagnosed with Neuroblastoma

● Almost all cases of neuroblastoma happen in infants and children younger than 5 years old. Despite this, treatments are sourced from adult protocols, regardless of the vast differences in paediatric cancer and paediatric care

● Childhood cancer receives just 10% of funding from total cancer spend!