A young girl has been given just a few weeks to live after what was initially thought to be arm pain turned out to be a rare childhood cancer.
Bonnie-Leigh Spence, a six-year-old from the UK, underwent amputation of most of her left arm in an attempt to remove the cancer following her diagnosis in February of the previous year.
The child developed a lump on her arm accompanied by intense pain in December 2024.
Caroline Spence, Bonnie-Leigh’s stepmother, mentioned that doctors initially suspected a sprain, but upon a second visit, her arm was scanned.
The scan revealed that Bonnie was suffering from Rhabdoid Sarcoma, a rare and aggressive childhood cancer.
This type of cancer is most commonly located in the kidneys but can also occur in the brain or other soft tissues.
Caroline, aged 32, noted that the prognosis worsened when tests showed the cancer had metastasized.
She recounted: “Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle conducted a full body MRI and discovered it had spread to her lungs. It had begun to affect nerves and release toxins into her kidneys.
“They had to amputate her arm above her elbow, and following that, she underwent chemotherapy for 28 weeks. She received treatment every two weeks, making it an intense period.
“In around June, she had two weeks of radiotherapy aimed at reducing the size of the tumors in her lungs. They were quite large.”
Despite the chemotherapy, doctors informed the family that the tumors had returned in her lungs and were growing aggressively.
“The doctors have confirmed she’s received the maximum allowable chemotherapy dosage, so now we’re waiting for the tumors in her body to progress,” Caroline explained.
“They anticipate it will reach its peak by mid-March, and we could lose her within days after it peaks, estimating around eight weeks. The cancer has doubled in size over six weeks.”
With limited time left, the family is raising funds to provide Bonnie-Leigh with meaningful experiences before she passes away.
Currently, Bonnie’s father, Iain, who is an HGV driver and former soldier, and Caroline, a midwife, are taking time off work to care for her.
They have set up a GoFundMe account, though they were initially unsure of its longevity due to the prognosis.
However, they were able to arrange a few special activities for her, including a trip to Disneyland, a visit to the Rangers pitch, and accompanying Newcastle United’s captain at the start of a match.
“We’ve had to squeeze a lifetime of memories into a single year,” Caroline expressed.
They plan to visit Iain’s parents in Spain soon, enjoy the beach even if it isn’t warm enough, recently adopted a puppy, and have scheduled a few UK retreats in the Lake District with the funds.
UNILAD reached out to East Lancashire Hospitals for a statement.
If you’ve been impacted by any of these issues and wish to speak to someone confidentially, you can contact the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345 or through their live chat feature, available around the clock every day of the year.