Brave Kira's battle to raise £340k for lifesaving cancer op

The parents of a brave teenager battling a rare cancer are in a race to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds so she can travel to America for potentially life-saving surgery.The parents of a brave teenager battling a rare cancer are in a race to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds so she can travel to America for potentially life-saving surgery.
The parents of a brave teenager battling a rare cancer are in a race to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds so she can travel to America for potentially life-saving surgery.
THE parents of a brave teenager have issued a heartfelt plea for support after revealing she faces a race against time to raise a six-figure sum aimed at funding potentially lifesaving cancer treatment in New York.

Courageous schoolgirl Kira Noble was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of neuroblastoma at the age of 11 after complaining of stomach pains and has since battled the condition three times.

Firrhill High pupil Kira, now 14, was approved for a place at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in Manhattan, New York earlier this month, where it is hoped surgeons can perform a pioneering procedure to remove her tumour.

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However, mum Aud and dad Ronnie say they risk losing their “gorgeous girl” unless they can raise the rest of the £340,000 needed to fund the treatment before the May 10 deadline.

Kira Noble was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare cancer that attacks the nerve cells, at the age of 11.Kira Noble was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare cancer that attacks the nerve cells, at the age of 11.
Kira Noble was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare cancer that attacks the nerve cells, at the age of 11.

The disease most commonly develops in children under the age of five and has a typically low survival rate of around ten per cent for those who have relapsed during their treatment.

But Aud revealed she was desperate to give resilient Kira a “chance” of beating the condition and appealed to the kind-hearted people of the capital to back her fight.

She said: “Childhood and teenage cancer doesn’t discriminate, it doesn’t care who it targets, and it just happens to be Kira who’s had this monster of a disease three times.

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Kira Noble was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare cancer that attacks the nerve cells, at the age of 11.Kira Noble was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare cancer that attacks the nerve cells, at the age of 11.
Kira Noble was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare cancer that attacks the nerve cells, at the age of 11.

“Kira takes on the challenges that neuroblastoma has thrown at her head on, with determination, power, resilience and humour.”

Aud continued: “I’m feeling so scared, I have to remind myself to breathe.”

“We desperately need your help to give our gorgeous girl a chance of beating this disease. We must get Kira to New York for this surgery.”

After her initial diagnosis, Kira underwent 15 months of arduous treatment before going into remission in October 2015.

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However, a routine scan in 2017 once again alerted the family that the cancer was back.

The brave teen had another round of chemotherapy as part of a clinical trial in Glasgow and underwent another major operation in an effort to remove the remaining tumour, but again the procedure was unsuccessful.

However the fearless teenager has been utterly defiant in the face of her condition, saying she “refuses to complain”.

She said: “You’ve just got to get on with it. I could complain and refuse to do it but where would that get me? Nowhere. What would it change? Nothing.”

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“I have relapsed neuroblastoma and I need to go through the treatment. There’s just no choice other than to keep going.”

The family, from Craiglockhart, have received support from the ‘Solving Kids Cancer’ organisation and have so far raised over £100,000 for the treatment.

The charity’s CEO Steve Richards added: “This is Kira’s best chance of getting rid of her tumour and if the surgery is successful it will give her the greatest hope of living free of this devastating disease.”

Donations can be made online at: www.solvingkidscancer.org.uk/campaigns/kira/ or by texting ‘KIRA89’ and your donation amount to 70070.

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