Mum’s hope of US trip for Sadie Rose (From York Press)

Mum’s hope of US trip for Sadie Rose

8:48am Monday 7th May 2012 in Harrogate and Ripon news

THE mother of a two-year-old girl who is battling the aggressive childhood cancer neuroblastoma says she hopes her daughter will soon be able to continue pioneering treatment abroad.

Sadie Rose Clifford, of Knaresborough, was taken to New York by her parents Katie and Darren earlier this year after a fundraising appeal collected just under £500,000.

But docters in the US discovered further tumours in her liver and chest cavity. The treatment, which stabilised her condition, was postponed for her to return to the UK, where she has since undergone chemotherapy.

After starting the treatment, Sadie had a two-week recovery period. She is now due to have scans to assess whether the treatment has been successful.

Mrs Clifford, 27, said: “I’m praying there will be an improvement. If everything goes well we hopefully will be going back to the USA; that’s what we are praying for. Sadie has been amazing. Our oncologist said she has recovered so well from this cycle of chemo.

“We are still encouraging people to raise money or if they have any ideas of how to raise money, we really appreciate anybody’s feedback.”

The family have to travel overseas for immunotherapy treatment using pioneering drugs which place Sadie’s chance of survival at 80 per cent.

Treatment may also be possible in Germany, where an antibody treatment called RIST therapy is available. Mrs Clifford and John Inglis, the father of six-year-old neuroblastoma victim Jamie, have called for better treatment in the UK so families are not forced to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds to go abroad.