Life saving treatment for Nora

In August 2018 5 year old Nora was diagnosed with hepatoblastoma, cancer of the liver that occurs in 1 in 1 million. Unfortunately, Nora's cancer was also found to be in her lungs. In the last 14 months Nora has gone through 9 rounds of chemotherapy which caused the usual side effects but it also caused permanent hearing loss, she has had 3 surgeries including removing 60% of her liver, her gallbladder and half of one lung. Nora now has over 850 beads of courage.

It was found the likely cause of Nora's cancer was a TP53 gene mutation, this gene helps suppress the growth of tumours. This now makes her susceptible to a large number of cancers at much higher risk than the general population. Heartbreakingly, Nora's Dad and little 3 year old sister were also found to have this and are now undergoing testing for cancer.

Nora's liver remains cancer free but the disease in her lungs is proving to be stubborn. Nora, now 6, has exhausted all of the curative treatments available in New Zealand but she has been accepted into a CAR T cell trial in Texas which is her last chance for a cure. The trial is part funded but we need your help with the rest. The costs including the unfunded portion, accommodation and flights is estimated at $140,000 NZD but this could change if Nora had to be admitted.