An eight-year-old girl has been bravely fighting against cancer for 18 weeks, as her parents have managed to raise over £60,000 for a liver transplant.
Phoebe Clarke is on her last round of chemotherapy, having had 80 per cent of her liver removed.
Once the chemo is done, she will need a liver transplant, which cannot be done in the UK, as her parents seek options abroad.
Matt Clarke and Lindsey Billington spoke to GB News about their daughter’s heroic fight, explaining how Phoebe is “absolutely loving life” despite an enduring health battle.
Mr Clarke said: “Since she was little, Phoebe’s been under the care of Leeds General Hospital for what you would describe as strawberry birthmarks on her liver, the technical term is hemangiomas. They’re like a benign vascular tumour of sorts, but not a problem.”
Upon treatment for hemangiomas, Phoebe started to outgrow the issue as her liver developed while having routine scans.
Doctors noticed a birthmark starting to grow, and she underwent a number of biopsies, when a sarcoma was discovered, forcing a portion of her liver to be cut out.
Upon a follow-up scan, with doctors believing they had everything removed, Phoebe was diagnosed with cancer and began an 18-week chemotherapy plan.
Mr Clarke told GB News: “She’s reacting well to the chemotherapy and the tumours are reducing. The prognosis is that the chemotherapy on its own won’t solve this problem. They will keep coming back.”
Phoebe’s dad said she is ‘reacting well to the chemotherapy’
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The oncology team in Manchester advocated for a liver transplant, believing that it “would be the best aim for a cure”.
The parents waited to hear news about a transplant, but were left in the dark with next to no communication from Manchester or Leeds.
Mr Clarke said: “We were getting radio silence from Leeds, so we as parents started to make a bit of noise.”
The parents contacted their local MPs, press, and Pals (Patient Advice and Liaison Service), who said they would get “someone to call later in the week”.
Phoebe’s GoFundMe page has already surpassed £60,000 worth of donations
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“It’s not good enough, there’s an eight-year-old girl here that you’re pretty much leaving to whatever”, Mr Clarke told Pals.
Following noise from local MPs and the press, the medical director of Leeds General Hospital called the parents, apologising and explaining that all the results from the multidisciplinary team at Birmingham and Kings about whether Phoebe can have a transplant would be coming in the following day.
Miss Billington said: “We went on the call at 3pm, and it took 10 minutes of them apologising for lack of communication before we even got to the point of the call, where we had to say to them, sorry, are you saying yes or no to the transplant? What’s the answer? And they said, Well, the answer is no.”
The parents were told that Phoebe would not be added to the transplant list due to the risk of the cancer coming back, and are unable to go private with the list counting for both NHS and private healthcare.
Phoebe will have to go abroad to have a liver transplant
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Family members are prepared to get tested to see if a part of their liver can be used for Phoebe, with Matt and Lindsey now looking at options abroad.
Miss Billington explained: “Through oncologists at Leeds, we’re putting inquiries into Paris, which is being explored.
“There’s also an oncology centre in the Netherlands that’s being contacted for opinions, and we’ve also been suggested Boston’s Children’s Hospital in the States, because they’re purported to be experts in soft tissue sarcomas.
“So those are the options that are currently being explored, although there are others being suggested because we’re getting more of a profile on social media.”
Matt and Lindsey set up a GoFundMe for the transplant abroad, which has already raised over £60,000, including an anonymous solo donation of £10,000.
Phoebe’s mum said despite all of her treatment, she is ‘absolutely loving life’
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Over 2,500 people have donated to Phoebe’s cause, who, despite all the ongoing treatment, is still “absolutely loving life”.
Miss Billington explained: “You would never know all what’s she been through, you honestly never would.”
The pair is concerned that after a liver transplant, they will need someone to take on her case in the UK; otherwise, they will have to go abroad for all of Phoebe’s treatments.
For now, Matt and Lindsey are sharing their daughter’s challenge, hoping to raise awareness and support for Phoebe.
The pair said: “We’re not giving up on our little girl. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your love, support, and prayers. With your help, Phoebe has a chance to live.”
If you would like to donate to Phoebe’s Challenge, her GoFundMe page is available HERE.