Treatment delay for three-year-old Sadie Rose (From York Press)

Treatment delay for three-year-old Sadie Rose

9:39am Wednesday 25th January 2012 in Harrogate and Ripon news By Kate Liptrot, kate.liptrot@thepress.co.uk

Sadie Rose Clifford with her parents Katie and Darren before leaving for the United States

THE family and friends of a little girl from North Yorkshire are facing a fresh fundraising challenge, after she suffered a serious setback.

Three-year-old Sadie Rose Clifford, of Knaresborough, was taken to New York earlier this month after fundraisers helped to collect just under £500,000 for pioneering treatment for the aggressive cancer neuroblastoma.

But doctors have discovered further tumours in her liver and chest cavity and the treatment has been delayed while Sadie undergoes urgent chemotherapy – at an additional cost of £186,000 – to try and stop the spread of the cancer.

If the chemotherapy is successful she will then be able to have immunotherapy treatment using pioneering drugs which place her chance of survival at 80 per cent. Without it her parents Katie and Darren have been told she has no chance of long-term survival. The setback means another fundraising push to try and cover the cost of the chemotherapy.

Alison Moy, chief executive of the Neuroblastoma Alliance, said: “There was a possibility the family could have come home and had a similar kind of chemotherapy on the NHS, but that could potentially take several weeks to organise and she just does not have that time. We know how aggressive neuroblastoma is – you can’t just sit and wait around.

“It’s every parent’s nightmare. It’s not uncommon that a child will not be ready to start a form of treatment and tests will show the child has relapsed. It’s a nightmare for the parents, it really is a difficult situation.

“This is Sadie Rose’s best chance. Although her parents are struggling with a difficult situation their expectations are realistic. They have got hope.”

The Neuroblastoma Alliance has given the go-ahead for the funds it transferred to be used so Sadie can receive the chemotherapy but it is appealing for fundraising on Sadie’s behalf to continue.

Their longstanding fundraising campaign has attracted the support of Premiership footballer Peter Crouch and his celebrity wife, Abbey Clancy, who have vowed to help the family as much as they can.

The amount originally needed was £300,000, but soon after the family reached the sum in early December, with the help of the Neuroblastoma Alliance, the target was raised to £495,000 because her situation was worse than originally thought.

An anonymous donor came forward at the 11th hour with the generous donation of £205,000 to cover the rest of the cost for pioneering treatment for Sadie.

Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York, where Sadie is being treated, is the most eminent cancer centre in the world. The treatment involves two new drugs, called 8H9 and 3F8.

For more information or to donate money visit sadierosecliffordappeal.co.uk