Hi folks,
The next step in Vanessa's journey has begun !!
With acknowledgement to the Daily Record who carried the story and have helped the Appeal immensely, and of course with thanks also due to everyone on PPRuNe who has helped as well !!
Vanessa is going to Germany !!
BATTLING Vanessa Riddle is off to Germany tomorrow for life-saving treatment.
And the brave 12-year-old and her family yesterday thanked Daily Record readers for giving her the chance of survival.
Vanessa has been put through intensive treatment since she was diagnosed with the aggressive cancer neuroblastoma in 2009.
But her family are pinning their hopes of beating the disease once and for all on a stem cell transplant to be carried out in Germany.
They have raised £876,000 since launching their appeal to pay for the treatment – with a target of £500,000 – in January.
Vanessa’s dad Chris said yesterday: “It’s a fantastic achievement that we’ve now got here and it’s down to the dedication of the people of Scotland and the Record readers, who have helped us to raise the funds we need to access the treatment Vanessa deserves to get.
“Doctors have told us we have enough money to cover the treatment. It will be ringfenced for any future treatment Vanessa needs, then anything left over will go back into the charity to help others.”
The treatment will be carried out by Professor Peter Lang and his team at Tubingen Hospital, near Stuttgart.
Chris said: “Vanessa will start her treatment on Tuesday and this is why we did all the crazy fundraising. We’ve spoken with doctors and we’re now at the point where things have to happen.”
Vanessa has had a course of chemotherapy and radiation therapy in the UK since she suffered a relapse late last year.
She is currently, as far as the medical equipment in the UK can see, clear of the disease.
But doctors have told the family the chances of the UK treatment working in the long term are very small and it is likely that the cancer will just be held at bay for a time before returning.
Without treatment, they put her chances of survival at less than 10 per cent.
Chris said: “In December, when we were told Vanessa’s cancer had returned, doctors gave us the option of chemo in Scotland, radiation in London, a combination of both, or nothing.
“Doing nothing was heavily pushed on to us. The way they sell it to you is that the chances of it working are very small. We had to ask, ‘Do we really want to put Vanessa through it?’
“Vanessa is quite calm and cool about everything. We decided to go for it and she is OK. She didn’t have a great time but had we not put her through the treatment, she wouldn’t be here today.”
The family had at first considered seeking treatment in the US but decided on Germany after researching what would be best for Vanessa.
Chris said: “The German doctors presented a treatment that appeared to be a better fit for Vanessa at a meeting in early March.”
The initial treatment, which involves a stem cell transplant, will take two to three months, with follow-up visits to Germany for six months after that.
The process is not without dangers, but Chris and wife Connie are optimistic about Vanessa’s future once the operation has taken place.
He said: “The Germans have been doing this for a number of years with leukaemia patients and only started doing it in the past few years with neuroblastoma patients.
“They have treated 26 patients in three years, nine of whom have completed a whole programme. Six kids have responded very well and it has either cleared the disease completely or stopped it in its tracks.
“We are not looking at huge numbers, but fairly big percentages. A lot of people are talking about it in the medical profession.”
At her monthly follow-up visits, Vanessa will be given antibody therapy to bolster her immune system.
Chris said: “We hope this is the end of the treatment and that it will have the desired effect.
“Connie, Vanessa and myself are going over together to Germany while Olivia, our 16-year-old daughter will be staying at home.”
And a short update from her dad:
Vanessa is now booked into her hospital room in Germany. She had the tour of Tübingen yesterday and loved the town, she loved going in and out the shops with Connie and she had a lovely meal out last night which she really enjoyed.
Tomorrow she goes into theatre for an access line so the docs can give all her medicines easily, should be a breeze for her as she's been round this block many times before!
I'll keep you posted as we go folks......
Fingers crossed !!!