Alternative treatment for Ella McKenzie's battle with leukemia

On behalf of the McKenzie family, Debs and Bay want to thank you all so much for the love and unconditional support that you have shown their beautiful daughter Ella so far, in her journey battling Leukemia over the past year.

In February 2018, 3-year-old Ella McKenzie was diagnosed with T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. While this type of leukemia has a very high rate of remission and cure (over 90%), sadly Ella’s cancer has proven highly aggressive, and with setbacks at every juncture in treatment during these past months, the McKenzie family are now facing down the barrel every parent’s worst nightmare.

Recently, Ella's fantastic medical team have come to the end of their road, having exhausted all conventional treatment options to cure Ella of this aggressive cancer, without success. Now, Bay & Deb are faced with the heartbreaking reality that regular treatment offers Ella no chance of survival.

However, like Ella, Debs and Bay are fighters. They refuse to give up on their wee angel and after considering every option, have decided to go down the path of alternative treatment to give Ella one last chance. This path is Medical Cannabis treatment (Cannabidiol, or CBD oil).

Extensive research is being done globally about the effects of CBD oil on cancer, and there are a number of cases, studies and clinical trials globally where patients who have been in the same situation as Ella have survived and gone into full remission.

Amazingly this alternative treatment appears to be working. Recent early test results have gone Ella’s way and come back clear. The CBD oil has also been very effective in relieving Ella of pain and side effects brought on by fighting her leukemia. She has her sparkle back!

While the family are holding onto all hope that this new therapy will cure Ella and she will go into full remission there is still a long and stressful road ahead, and they will need all the support and help they can get to cure their baby girl.

CBD treatment comes with a very high price tag of $800 per week ($40k a year!). This treatment has no government subsidy, and treatment could need to continue for several years, so we are reaching out to all Ella Champions to help relieve some of the immense financial burden this new therapy is putting on the family.

It is also our hope that, down the track, Ella’s will be a success story that can help to pave the way for other Kiwi families to access and fund CBD treatment more easily. A treatment with the promise to not only vastly increase the quality of life for severely ill cancer patients, but that could also potentially cure them entirely, and should be accessible for all.

The McKenzie family are forever grateful for all the support and kindness shown by friends and family, and are cherishing every day with their beautiful girl.

P.S. We also plan to have some fundraising events announced soon so please watch this space...

For more information on the science you can find it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RtRil2ND-E&app=desktop