In loving memory of Charlie Watson

*edit: July 2025. Please view the latest update. This fundraiser will be closed on Monday 21st July and all the funds transferred to Charlie's mum to help with costs and keeping Charlie's memory alive.

Charlie is 8 years old and has been fighting cancer since 2020 when she was just 4 years old. I first met her mum in a support group for parents of children who had completed NHS treatment for high-risk neuroblastoma—a rare and aggressive form of childhood cancer.

For children with high-risk neuroblastoma, the odds are heartbreaking: only 50% survive beyond five years. If the cancer returns, the survival rate drops to under 10%. There is currently no known cure for relapsed cases.

Devastatingly, Charlie relapsed at the end of 2023. Since then, she has taken part in multiple clinical trials in the hope of finding a treatment that works. But recent scans have not brought the good news we all hope for and her family is once again searching for options for a cure.

Through it all, Charlie has spent far too much of her young life in hospital beds instead of doing what every child should be doing—playing, laughing, going to school and making memories with her friends and family. It's so unfair as (in her Mums words) she's a "thrill seeking - ready to rock and roll kinda gal".

Charlie's family has never asked for help like this and didn’t ask me to set up this page. Another friend set up one to cover their living costs, but now is the time for them to make precious memories together. Charlies wish when she was in treatment was to go to Disney- due to COVID the charity brought Disney to the UK, but that's not the real thing!

That’s why we’re fundraising to give Charlie and her big sister, Polly, a magical trip to Disneyland—a chance to escape the nightmare they’ve been living and create joyful memories together.

Some charities do offer trips like these, but waitlists are long and dates are inflexible. Charlie’s health is unpredictable, and her family needs the freedom to go when there’s a precious window between treatments- and to go as soon as possible.

That’s where you come in.

Please donate whatever you can AND SHARE THIS PAGE to help make this dream a reality. Every pound raised will go directly to Charlie’s family to fund the trip. Any remaining funds will be used to create other special memories closer to home.

Thank you for your support. ️

Media enquiries:

If you are from a media outlet and wish to share Charlie’s story, please contact Helen via this page before publishing. Whilst the family appreciates your interest the sensitivity of their situation must be respected—with the family retaining control over how their story is told.