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This was in the Jamaica Observer today.... 
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html...VE_UP_HOPE_.asp
ANDREA Brown has not lost hope that some day her two-year-old daughter Courtney-Ann will be well again. However, she knows that the chance is extremely slim if she does not find the $795,000 needed for a radiation treatment to reduce a rapidly growing tumour at the child's neck.
Courtney-Ann, who was diagnosed with stage IV neuroblastoma - a child cancer - at six months old, has regressed in the last few months after her parents could no longer afford to keep up with an expensive chemotherapy procedure.
The worried mother is now desperately trying to accumulate the funds for the child to have radiation treatment, which it is believed will reduce the tumour until the family can find more money to continue chemotherapy.
"I will never give up hope while she still has breath in her body because there is still a God," Brown told the Observer Friday from the University Hospital of the West Indies where Courtney-Ann has been hospitalised since earlier that week.
The woman said she has been forced to have the radiation done privately since the earliest available date at the Kingston Public Hospital is the end of July.
"I can't wait so long because she is in pain and now she can't do a whole lot of things since her neck is too heavy and she can't walk around," she told the Observer, adding that the baby cannot eat solid foods.
After spending much of last year in the hospital, Courtney-Ann returned home in April as the family could no longer afford the hundreds of thousands required to continue treatment.
Strangely, although diagnosed with stage IV cancer, she showed little signs of being ill until two months ago when the tumour began growing. The young girl was again hospitalised last week after she developed a high fever.
But the two-year-old's life can be spared with a bone marrow transplant. However, the US$500,000 required for the operation is a price the family cannot afford to pay.
Dr Doreen Brady-West, a consultant haematologist/oncologist who has supervised the treatment of the child, told the Observer in an earlier interview that for "best results", a bone marrow transplant (stem cell transplantation) should be done soon.
But the facilities are not available in Jamaica for the procedure.
In the absence of the bone marrow transplant, doctors would have to continue treatment with chemotherapy, which according to Brady-West, is a "less than the ideal option".
Courtney-Ann's cancer was discovered after her parents became concerned that prescribed antibiotics did not reduce a lymph node behind her ear, which a paediatrician diagnosed as an ear infection. Her mother returned to the paediatrician a month later and was reassured that it would soon clear up.
It didn't.
The Browns took Courtney-Ann to an ear, nose and throat specialist where the child was again diagnosed with an ear infection. They subsequently sought a third opinion from another paediatrician who recommended that a biopsy be done. The results came back, changing the family's life forever - their little girl had cancer.
Courtney-Ann's case was immediately referred to the University Hospital of the West Indies for further testing.
A few months later, the child began receiving chemotherapy. The treatment lasted for six days each time, and at least one parent had to stay with her in hospital for the four weeks she was admitted on each occasion.
Courtney-Ann's father, Orlando, said his family has no medical insurance as a result of the closure of bauxite company Alpart, where he worked. He too is hoping that his youngest child will be
well again.
"I have always pictured my life with me and my three daughters going places and having fun and so I don't want to think of it as any other way," he said.
The Browns said they have already received some donations from concerned persons, but said they still need a lot more funds for Courtney-Ann's radiation treatent. Additionally, the child's mother said she is hoping that she will be able to make contact with a hospital overseas which might be able to provide her with more options in saving her daughter's life.
<span style="font-weight: bold">An account, #625326, has been set up at the Bank of Nova Scotia for those wishing to help the baby. The Browns can be contacted at [email protected].</span>
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html...VE_UP_HOPE_.asp
ANDREA Brown has not lost hope that some day her two-year-old daughter Courtney-Ann will be well again. However, she knows that the chance is extremely slim if she does not find the $795,000 needed for a radiation treatment to reduce a rapidly growing tumour at the child's neck.
Courtney-Ann, who was diagnosed with stage IV neuroblastoma - a child cancer - at six months old, has regressed in the last few months after her parents could no longer afford to keep up with an expensive chemotherapy procedure.
The worried mother is now desperately trying to accumulate the funds for the child to have radiation treatment, which it is believed will reduce the tumour until the family can find more money to continue chemotherapy.
"I will never give up hope while she still has breath in her body because there is still a God," Brown told the Observer Friday from the University Hospital of the West Indies where Courtney-Ann has been hospitalised since earlier that week.
The woman said she has been forced to have the radiation done privately since the earliest available date at the Kingston Public Hospital is the end of July.
"I can't wait so long because she is in pain and now she can't do a whole lot of things since her neck is too heavy and she can't walk around," she told the Observer, adding that the baby cannot eat solid foods.
After spending much of last year in the hospital, Courtney-Ann returned home in April as the family could no longer afford the hundreds of thousands required to continue treatment.
Strangely, although diagnosed with stage IV cancer, she showed little signs of being ill until two months ago when the tumour began growing. The young girl was again hospitalised last week after she developed a high fever.
But the two-year-old's life can be spared with a bone marrow transplant. However, the US$500,000 required for the operation is a price the family cannot afford to pay.
Dr Doreen Brady-West, a consultant haematologist/oncologist who has supervised the treatment of the child, told the Observer in an earlier interview that for "best results", a bone marrow transplant (stem cell transplantation) should be done soon.
But the facilities are not available in Jamaica for the procedure.
In the absence of the bone marrow transplant, doctors would have to continue treatment with chemotherapy, which according to Brady-West, is a "less than the ideal option".
Courtney-Ann's cancer was discovered after her parents became concerned that prescribed antibiotics did not reduce a lymph node behind her ear, which a paediatrician diagnosed as an ear infection. Her mother returned to the paediatrician a month later and was reassured that it would soon clear up.
It didn't.
The Browns took Courtney-Ann to an ear, nose and throat specialist where the child was again diagnosed with an ear infection. They subsequently sought a third opinion from another paediatrician who recommended that a biopsy be done. The results came back, changing the family's life forever - their little girl had cancer.
Courtney-Ann's case was immediately referred to the University Hospital of the West Indies for further testing.
A few months later, the child began receiving chemotherapy. The treatment lasted for six days each time, and at least one parent had to stay with her in hospital for the four weeks she was admitted on each occasion.
Courtney-Ann's father, Orlando, said his family has no medical insurance as a result of the closure of bauxite company Alpart, where he worked. He too is hoping that his youngest child will be
well again.
"I have always pictured my life with me and my three daughters going places and having fun and so I don't want to think of it as any other way," he said.
The Browns said they have already received some donations from concerned persons, but said they still need a lot more funds for Courtney-Ann's radiation treatent. Additionally, the child's mother said she is hoping that she will be able to make contact with a hospital overseas which might be able to provide her with more options in saving her daughter's life.
<span style="font-weight: bold">An account, #625326, has been set up at the Bank of Nova Scotia for those wishing to help the baby. The Browns can be contacted at [email protected].</span>
and dat picture bun inna mi memory now 
<span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold">(((compray)))</span></span>
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