Daya

Daya’s story

Daya has two sisters including her twin, Jasmine, who was born deaf and disabled. Loving parents, Anupreet and Pamela, welcomed their twin daughters into the world in the Autumn of 2016. 

Exactly a year later, Pamela noticed a lump in Daya’s abdomen and took her to their local GP. Following scans at their local hospital they were rushed to Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital where the family were met by the on-call oncologist. The lump in Daya’s abdomen was a suspected large cancerous mass and further tests were needed. 

Her parents were left shocked and fearful when results of all the tests came back as neuroblastoma. They were heartbroken. 

Things moved quickly for Daya and her family; she was sedated for more scans and procedures, including being fitted with a Hickman line (through which medicine is injected) ready to start an intensive treatment regime. 

After eight rounds of chemotherapy and countless nights in hospital with complications and infections in between rounds, Daya’s parents were told that the main tumour was inoperable due to its highly dangerous position. It meant Daya went through a ninth round of high-dose chemotherapy at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital. One of the most challenging phases in her treatment schedule, Daya was confined to an isolation room at hospital for six weeks. Daya’s mum, Pamela says: “Watching your child suffer through round after round of chemotherapy and its awful side effects is excruciating and any parent’s worst nightmare.” 

Travelling to New York 

Daya's family chose to look overseas for life-saving surgery for Daya. The operation at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center was performed by a world-leading surgeon who specialises in the most difficult to remove tumours. But to access the surgery, her family needed to raise £362,000. Thanks to the overwhelming support for Daya, the urgent fundraising appeal hit its target and donations meant Daya had successful surgery in September 2018. 

Daya is now seven years old and remains in remission after scans in 2019, which showed no evidence of disease. 

_{Solving Kids' Cancer UK's children's fundraising campaigns} 

_{Funds raised will go towards helping Daya should she need further treatment not available through the NHS. Daya's cancer, high-risk neuroblastoma is aggressive with high rates of relapse. At relapse, the chance of survival is extremely low. If Daya no longer needs the funds or is in remission five years post the end of treatment, the funds will be used to support other children and families affected by neuroblastoma through our activities.}