Little Ivy-Louise flies to New York for pioneering cancer treatment

Ivy-Louise Wilkinson from Ackworth and her family have travelled to New York for the special vaccine that is hoped will help prevent a relapse from neuroblastoma.

The youngsters was just 14 months old when her devastated parents learned last year that she had cancer and had just a 50/50 chance of survival.

NEWS: Brave Ruby, 9, ready to face more life saving surgeryNeuroblastoma, although rare, affects babies and young children and develops from nerve cells left behind from the development in the womb.

It often begins in the adrenal gland, which is where doctors first found a six-centimetre tumour in Ivy-Louise.

She has since undergone surgery to remove a large part of the tumour, and undergone gruelling rounds of chemotherapy, high-dose chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

But her parents Kerri-Lee and Jamie had also launched a massive fundraising drive after learning about the treatment in America that, following clinical trials, had proven to be successful.

Speaking from New York, Kerri-Lee said: “It went good, it’s a vaccine into the top off her thigh, her leg is a little sore now.

NEWS: Your invitation to the ball that will help Wakefield people living with cancer“Every treatment isn’t nice as it means upsetting Ivy all over again but it’s all for her the best chance of keeping neuroblastoma away.

“Since coming over here Ivy has been undergoing test and examinations.

“As you can imagine this hasn’t been very nice for Ivy as she has had to get use to a different hospital accents, doctors and nurses so it has been very daunting for us all.

“However, that said, I am so happy we have eventually got her out here to have treatment to help her live a normal happy life.”

Ivy-Louise is expected to have seven injections over the course of a year.