LITTLE Ottilie Rushby was a “sassy, happy and beautiful” toddler when her parents noticed a small lump on her head.

Dad James, 41, says: “The only thing that we noticed is that she had a slight lump on her head near her temple. We just assumed it was a bruise and didn’t think anything of it.”

James and mum Sophie thought Ottilie must have developed a ‘bruise’ from playing or falling over

Ottilie had a lump on her head near her temple

James and mum Sophie thought she must’ve got the ‘bruise’ from playing or falling over.

But after the bruise failed to fade after two weeks, they sought medical advice and their GP referred them for a CT scan the same day.

The couple were then left “shattered” after the tot was diagnosed with cancer that had spread up her spine.

James, a tennis teacher from Hilton, Derbyshire, said: “It was really crazy, Ottilie had no pain or symptoms of the cancer.”

After the bruise failed to fade after two weeks James and Sophie sought medical advice

Ottilie was diagnosed with a cancer that had spread up her spine

Ottilie has a high-risk neuroblastoma – a rare childhood cancer – which had already spread from her liver to her skull and spine.

The rare condition, which affects 83 children in the UK each year, develops in a child’s nerve tissue and only 30 to 50 per cent of cases survive.

The main symptom is a lump which can be felt under a child’s skin.

Now Ottilie faces a gruelling 18 months of treatment including chemotherapy, surgery, blood transfusions, stem cell transplant, radiotherapy and immunotherapy.

The family are also trying to raise £300,000 for future and potentially life-saving treatment and an experimental vaccine in the USA.

James said of the lump on her head: “Nobody had seen her fall, so we were stumped. Because it didn’t start to go down, Sophie phoned the doctors on May 8.

“We’re pleased that we did this, he didn’t know what it was but referred us for a CT scan the same day in Derby.

“Within 20 mins of the scan, we could tell something was wrong. The staff pulled us into a private room and asked to wait for a consultant.

“They told us it’s not good news at all. She’s got a tumour in her head.

“They blue-lighted her to Nottingham Queens Medical and get her on the ward and go from there.

“It was world shattering to hear she had a tumour. We couldn’t speak or think about it for the first week without crying, we’re both broken and shattered.

“What’s hard is that she was and still is playing normally, she’s like a normal little girl.”

Now Ottilie faces a gruelling 18 months of treatment

Ottilie has since undergone surgery to her head, multiple tests and has started chemotherapy.

Dad-of-two James added: “We had a week of horrendous tests.

“She had five general aesthetics in a week, an MRI Monday, then she had surgery to her head on the Tuesday, bone marrow tests on Wednesday – it was all quite a lot.

“We picked up that the tumour in her head isn’t a brain tumour, it started in the kidney.

“It spread through her bone marrow through to her spine and up to her head.

“It’s probably the worst bit of news we could ever imagine.

“We continued all of these tests this first week. She’s on a really long journey of chemo.

“This type of cancer, they really hit it hard as it’s a fast growing cancer. They started emergency chemo the following week.

“We’re only on a 70-day chemotherapy plan. There’s seven lots of treatment in 70 days.

“There’s a 30-50 per cent chance the treatment has worked. She has the initial 70-day treatment, then she has a lot more following this.”

While the toddler has a chance her treatment in the UK will work, her parents say she needs an urgent vaccine in the US which prevents the cancer from returning.

According to Neuroblastoma UK, high-risk neuroblastoma has a 50 per cent chance of relapse.

The couple have raised over £50,000 on GoFundMe so far as they hope to head to the US as soon as Ottilie finishes her treatment.

The Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Center in New York offers the only paediatric bivalent cancer vaccine for high-risk neuroblastoma.

The vaccine targets two proteins (GD2L and GD3L) found on neuroblastoma cells and is administered in a series of subcutaneous injections.

James added: “The treatment she’s receiving at the moment is treatment she can receive anywhere in the world.

Ottilie’s family are trying to raise £300,000 for potentially life-saving treatment. Pictured, with brother Archie

“It’s exactly what she needs right now. The vaccine in America is to stop relapse.

“In an ideal world the chemotherapy will shrink every bit of cancer she has. Lets say it goes well, neuroblastoma has an over 50 per cent chance of relapse.

“The survival rate drops to 20 per cent if she does. So the plan is to go to America and get this vaccine.

“We want to get over there and start the vaccine treatment. It’s a course of many weeks and consists of many injections.

“It’s quite a costly programme. There have been quite a few other families have been in touch for this. A family who has done this told us we need to fundraise for £300,000.

“This is only trialled in America in a place in New York.

“It’s quite early stages but we’ve had so much support. We’ve got 10 or 12 fundraising ideas in the pipeline.

“We think nearly 2,000 people have donated various amounts, which is just incredible.

“I think we’ve cried enough to fill a lifetime.

“It‘s hard to put into words how hard it is for her and how well she’s done.

“It’s relentless but we hope this will make a difference.”

Anyone looking to donate can do so here.

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/health/16660516/sassy-toddler-bump-head-diagnosis-save-her/