Help us support #smallbutmightyelise

Elise is one of the most energetic, loving, and joyful 8 year old girls you could ever meet. Everyone who knows her has been touched by her bubbly personality, confidence, and incredible zest for life. Whether she’s at school, dancing, doing gymnastics, or simply making a new friend, Elise has a way of bringing happiness wherever she goes. She loves bunnies, dogs and horses, makes friends everywhere she goes, and approaches life with an enthusiasm that is impossible not to love.

Today, it is with a heavy heart that we share the news that Elise’s cancer has returned.

Almost seven years ago, when Elise was just a baby, she was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma. For more than 18 months, she endured an incredibly difficult treatment journey that included surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, stem cell transplants, immunotherapy and countless appointments and hospital stays. She endured all of it and eventually reached the milestone everyone had prayed for: no evidence of disease. For nearly six years, she has been able to grow up, go to school, have hobbies, make friends, and simply be a kid.

Now, unimaginably, she and her family are being asked to continue this journey. Elise has been diagnosed with recurrent high-risk neuroblastoma. This time, the tumors are behind both of her eyes and there is cancer in the bones of her neck and skull.

Her parents, Lila and Matt, are preparing to do everything possible to give Elise the best chance at eradicating the cancer from her body once and for all.

Elise is the youngest of four children and her siblings, Ciara, 13, Mack, 11 and Sean, 9, adore their little sister. As Lila and Matt navigate appointments, treatments, hospital stays, difficult decisions, and the uncertainty that comes with a cancer relapse, they are also doing everything they can to maintain stability and normalcy for Elise and their other three children at home. As the family gears up to jump back into the fight for Elise, they face not only the emotional weight of this unimaginable journey but also the growing financial strain that comes with long, intense treatment.

Lila will need to step away from working so she can be with Elise throughout her treatment. For the past two years, she has worked as a substitute teacher in Scituate Public Schools and at a nearby preschool, providing income that has been essential to their family. At the same time as her income disappears, the family’s expenses will grow significantly.

The mounting costs include deductibles, out of pocket maximums, potential out of state trial treatments that may not be covered by insurance and the expensive travel that comes with them, the costs of transportation and parking for frequent hospital visits and long term stays, and meals away from home.

There are also countless smaller expenses that come with having a seriously ill child. Things that may once have been conveniences quickly become necessities when parents are trying to care for a child undergoing cancer treatment and simultaneously keep life moving for three other children.

This is where we are hoping you can help. Our goal is to take away as much of the financial burden as possible so Lila and Matt can put all of their energy into caring for Elise, supporting Ciara, Mack, and Sean, and pursuing the very best treatment options available for their daughter.

If you are able to donate, no amount is too small. If you aren’t in a position to contribute financially, sharing Elise’s story can be just as meaningful. And above all, please keep Elise and her entire family in your thoughts and prayers as they start back up their fight against cancer.

Elise has already shown everyone who loves her just how much courage can exist in such a little person. Now it’s our turn to surround her and her family with all the love, strength, and support they will need in the months ahead.

Please help us rally around Elise and her family as they embark on their second pursuit to cure Elise from cancer.