According to a story from stv.tv, 14-year-old Kira Noble has been fighting against neuroblastoma for around over four years. She first began to realize that something was wrong when her flank began to ache in January 2014. The pain increased in severity, sometimes to the point that she would vomit. Kira was also a talented athlete, with netball being her preferred sport, but before long, she began to have breathing difficulties that began to hold her back.
Neuroblastoma is a form of cancer that typically occurs in children and originates in nerve tissue. It can first appear in several different areas of the body, most typically the adrenal glands. However, it can also appear in the abdomen as in Kira’s case. Symptoms typically include bone pain and a noticeable lump in the area where the tumor is present. In most cases, other symptoms depend on the location of the tumor; for example, a tumor in the chest or upper abdomen can cause the breathing issues that Kira experienced. In most cases, the cause is not well understood, though it occasionally can be caused by certain mutations that run in families. It is usually diagnosed in children under age five, and has often begun to spread when it is found. Survival varies depending on the case; five year survival stands at an average of 68 percent. To learn more about neuroblastoma, click here.
Since being diagnosed in August 2015, 8 months after symptoms began, Kira has endured intensive treatment in order to get rid of the massive neuroblastoma tumor that doctors discovered. First, it was multiple bouts of chemotherapy, followed by surgery. This was followed by radiation therapy and other treatments to destroy what was left of the tumor. However, even after this treatment regimen, the cancer returned in just twelve weeks. Neuroblastoma is well known for its ability to relapse, especially in high risk cases.
Kira endured a more intense chemo regimen and another surgery attempt, followed by a stem cell transplant. By this point there was still a portion of the remaining tumor left inside Kira, but it was no longer active. Nevertheless, the cancer would again relapse, and a little before her 14th birthday, the neuroblastoma began to grow again. She was in theatre for 9 hours in January 2018 for her third major abdominal surgery but it was not possible for their home surgeons to resect the tumor.
There is still hope that a more precise surgical procedure could save her, but it will cost hundreds of thousand of pounds. If you would like to help give Kira her greatest chance yet, click here. You can also learn more about her story on Solving Kids’ Cancer Europe here.
