Save lives like Marley’s this Christmas

Marley was a happy, smiley baby, so when her mum, Jackie, discovered blood in her nappy, she thought there would be a simple explanation. She took Marley to the hospital though, to be safe.

Jackie could never have imagined what was to follow.

When they arrived at the ER, the doctors were worried and immediately rushed Marley to a larger children’s hospital where she endured five long days of tests.

Jackie said, ‘I was numb. I didn’t really know what to feel. The last thing I thought it would be was cancer.’

The doctors told Jackie that Marley had a rare germ cell cancer. 

Marley started an intensive treatment regime that lasted eight very difficult months. She was confined to her hospital cot for up to 23 hours a day, and isolated to keep her safe.

Jackie says there were many times she thought she would have to say goodbye to her little girl.

‘You could hear families saying goodbye to their children. It was heartbreaking. I was so scared we were going to lose her.’

Thankfully, Marley survived

However, not all children do. Three kids are lost each week to cancer each week!

Advances in technology are enabling us to obtain deeper insights into the fundamental nature of cancer, enabling more accurate cancer diagnosis and treatment planning, and the development of new treatments with fewer side effects. But we can’t do this alone.

Will you please donate a special gift this Christmas, so we can find better ways to treat and manage childhood cancers and save these precious little lives?