Treatment success, new baby boost, and donation target doubled - campaign to save Anna Poppy marches on
Anna Poppy from Bradwell has a tumour in a spine. Her family are fundraising for treatment abroad Picture: Sam Lawson - Credit: Sam Lawson
Life for the Lawson family is an exhausting round of punishing cancer treatment and emergency set-backs that has eclipsed normal life.
Anna Lawson who is undergoing treatment for cancer. The public have donated over £50,000 for a vaccine treatment abroad Picture: Sam Lawson - Credit: Sam Lawson
Every day can bring new problems - as well as small victories - as they do everything they can to give three-year-old Anna Poppy the best chance of a long, healthy, life.
This week she is at home in Bradwell recovering from a string of illnesses including shingles, a fungal infection in her lung, and a viral infection - her plight having moved the community to raise over £50,000.Every delay in treatment means chemotherapy is less likely to work and her parents Ben and Lizzy are crossing everything that she will back in Addenbrooke's on Friday (June 21) continuing with the course.
"It has been really hard going," Mr Lawson said.
"It felt like we were wading through treacle.
Anna-Poppy Lawson pictured earlier in the year during her radiotherapy treatment Picture: Ben Lawson. - Credit: Archant
"On one of the days her temperature went up over 41C.
"She is quite unwell in the morning and quite sick and unwell in her stomach. It's a bit of a hard slog, it's not nice to see."
It is the second time Anna Poppy is having to fight cancer.
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The bombshell news the cancer was back came the day after the couple found out they were expecting their second child, due in October.
And while Anna's illness had taken the shine off the pregnancy it was lovely to see how excited Anna was about having a brother or sister, Mr Lawson said.
Despite being desperately ill the family has been boosted by recent scans which show both tumours in her spine have shrunk significantly.
If the treatment is successful she will travel to Germany for immunotherapy/vaccine treatment - paid for by strangers - which should prevent a further relapse.
New quotes mean the fundraising target has been doubled to £100,000."We do not want to have any regrets," Mr Lawson said.
"If she does not relapse we will never truthfully know if its because of the treatment on the NHS or in Germany.
"At the moment we are positive that things are going in the right direction and we can go for a vaccine."
