After 4 1/2 years in remission, my cousin Lucy is fighting stage 4 high risk neuroblastoma for the third time. She was first diagnosed at 9 months old and was told that she had no evidence disease after 7 months of treatment. Sadly, she had a relapse in her brain which caused a hemorrhage just a month and a half after she was told that she was cancer-free. She had to get brain surgery to stop the hemorrhage and had to have a VP shunt placed in her brain. As a result, Lucy has developmental and physical disabilities and she needs physical, occupational and speech therapy several times a week. Even with the hardships, she continued to fight and continued to have no evidence of disease NED for almost 5 years. In the beginning of August she started complaining of leg pain on her left side and started to limp. One week from the day that she started limping, she had scans done and was told that she had relapsed in the bones of both of her legs, but her left femur had a tumor growing so big inside of it that it caused a fracture which she will need surgery for to place a plate and screws to reinforce the bone so that it doesn't completely break. Her mother, Lori, was told by the orthopedic team at MSK that if the bone was to completely break before the surgery, it leaves Lucy at risk of losing complete function of her left hip and leg. So Lucy has been on bed rest since the end of August. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy and just finished her second cycle. She will undergo scans once again to see how the cancer has responded to the chemo thus far. Depending on how the cancer has responded, it will determine the next step that needs to be taken. After the scans regardless of the results, Lucy will have surgery on her left femur sometime in October. She will also be undergoing surgery at the end of September to place a g-tube in her stomach. She refuses to take any oral medication and needs to take a special medication to inhibit the ALK Gene. She tested positive for this gene which makes the cancer more aggressive and more likely to relapse.

Because of all that is going on with Lucy's treatment, Lucy's mom, Lori, is will be unable to go back to work for the foreseeable future. Lucy's stepdad Brock will be working, but as a single income household, things are going to be very difficult for them to make ends meet. Both parents are DOE Substitute paraprofessionals, they only get paid for days when they work. To make matters worse, they have to find another apartment immediately because of black mold in their current apartment. Lucy cannot be exposed to this because a fungal infection can cause complications in a child who is immunocompromised due to cancer treatment.

If you are able to donate it all, even if it's just a dollar, it would be greatly appreciated and would help this family stay afloat during one of the most difficult times of their life. Any donations will also be used towards possible travel to other locations for treatment if God forbid things don't work out at their current hospital and they need to seek out other options.