The Stevenage family of a terminally ill three-year-old girl want to raise awareness about her condition while they make sure she enjoys every second of the time she has left.
Grace Roberts-Fookes was a bright and healthy child when she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer in July last year.
Mum Sarah said: “It was heartbreaking. She was such a healthy child and it was only when my partner Louise thought that something was wrong that we took her to hospital and they discovered the cancer.
“Since her diagnosis she’s been through so much but she has coped admirably with everything that has been thrown at her.”
Grace suffers from adrenal cortical carcinoma – cancer of the adrenal gland – and Cushing’s syndrome, where the adrenal cortex overproduces hormones causing high blood pressure and obesity.
These conditions are rare in adults and it is almost unheard of to have the two together in a child of Grace’s age.
“Our consultant has never treated a case like Grace before,” Sarah said.
“Everywhere we have been doctors have been unsure what to do because they’ve never seen anything like it before. We have been in and out of hospitals all over the place since her diagnosis.
“But throughout all of this Grace has never been difficult about taking her medication or having to move all over the place.
“She’s been amazingly brave and I don’t think anyone could have handled it better.”
Since her diagnosis Grace has had seven chemotherapy treatments and at one point had to take nine different tablets seven times a day.
In one trial the tumour started to shrink, but unfortunately this didn’t last and subsequent treatments have been unable to stop its growth.
“We are still hoping that she gets put on a new drugs trial. Our other main aim is to raise awareness about this condition,” Sarah said.
“We’re hoping that media coverage will lead to people who have it seeking help and get the treatment they need before it’s too late.”
Unknown to Sarah and Louise, a group of their familyand friends saw the stress the situation was putting the family under and decided to organise a quiz night to raise money for Grace to spend on things she will enjoy.
All the cash generated on the night – taking place at Wymondley JMI School next Saturday, August 8 – will pay for fun activities for her and her family to do. Tickets for teams of up to six are still available – visit www.facebook.com/keepdancingintherain to find out more.
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