SUPPORT LUNA'S FIGHT FOR LIFE, AGAINST STAGE 4 NEUROBLASTOMA

Meet Luna!

Luna is a bright and funny two-year-old who loves collecting plushies, stickers, all things pink, drawing & colouring in, riding her trike, watching funny cat videos on YouTube, dancing and singing, painting, spending all her time outdoors and giving her cat cuddles.

Mid 2023, it was discovered that Luna has a rare, aggressive and fast spreading childhood cancer.

She was diagnosed with high-risk stage IV neuroblastoma.

The five-year survival rate is just 50%.

Neuroblastoma is known as the great masquerader. It can be difficult to identify and can be misdiagnosed for many "common" illnesses.

This is precisely what happened with little Luna. From 11 days old, Luna was in and out of hospital. She has now spent the large majority of her little life in and out of hospital. This is not how an innocent child should be living her childhood.

Despite our best efforts, consulting with numerous health professionals, including: multiple doctors, several different teams, numerous emergency department visits, it took 22 MONTHS for her to be diagnosed. Had Luna have been diagnosed earlier, her treatment plan and prognosis would look a whole lot different. More positive...

Treatment protocol for this rare and aggressive cancer is intense, long and extensive. Due to its complexity, oncologists have described stage 4 neuroblastoma treatment as throwing the kitchen sink at it.

Treatment is estimated to take an agonizing 18 months.

Nothing could prepare us as her parents and her close family for this absolutely devastating news. While the family are heartbroken beyond words, we take comfort in the fact that children are resilient & we have a lot of love and support around them. Luna is receiving the best care possible and is currently undergoing treatment at the Queensland Children’s Hospital. It is a long grueling road ahead treatment wise and beyond.

Luna's treatment plan consists of:

✨ INDUCTION CHEMOTHERAPY consisting of five cycles of chemotherapy.

✨ SURGERY to remove the primary tumor. Due to the complex nature of neuroblastoma, Luna also had both her kidney & adrenal gland removed.

✨ BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT coupled with high dose chemotherapy. Essentially, this entailed Luna being in complete hospital isolation for 7 WEEKS straight. The high dose chemo is designed to obliterate her body. Then she is saved by having her own stem cells transplated back into her body. Sadly, Luna encountered NUMEROUS complications. Some of which she is still dealing with today, months later.

✨RADIATION comprising of 2.5 weeks of back to back sessions under daily general anesthetic.

✨ IMMUNOTHERAPY over the course of 6 months. This requires monthly hospital admissions and an array of medications.

To read more about Luna's journey thus far, click here: https://treat.rarecancers.org.au/campaign/2155/helping-luna-kemmery

Since diagnosis, Luna has had numerous blood transfusions, platelet transfusions, biopsies, and central lines imbedded in her chest for chemotherapy and other necessary intravenous medicines.

From the get go, Luna has had a nasogastric feeding tube to help improve her nutrition and easily administer daily medications. Her baby, "Bubby", is also wearing a mini feeding tube and central line to help her get better too.

Due to the harsh and toxic chemotherapies Luna needs to beat this monster, she will face numerous lifelong health issues. Some include: inability to have her own children, permanent hearing loss, digestive & thyroid issues just to name a few. The real kicker is, she is more likely to develop secondary cancers, such as Leukaemia, later on in life.

Due to the relentless nature of neuroblastoma, there is a 60% chance of relapse.

In the event Luna relapses, her chances of survival plummet to a grim and heartbreaking 5%.

This is not something we are willing to risk and will do everything in our power to avoid. We have great faith and trust in her oncology team here at QCH, but there are limited treatment options available if she relapses. There are promising trials overseas in America. However, these come at an incredibly expensive cost which are out of reach for most people.

We are fundraising to access life-saving treatments overseas. These are costly and estimated to cost $21,000 PER MONTH for 2 YEARS, that's almost $500,000 for the course of treatment. We are specifically raising funds to access a drug called DFMO and in the future the bivalent vaccine. Currently, it is not available in Australia. Research shows DFMO can reduce the chances of relapse by 25-50%, improving the overall survival rates from 50% to 75%.

Those who know us, know that Taylor and I are very proud and private people. We do not like asking for help. Therefore, this is very difficult for us. But given the circumstances, we have had to dig deep within, share our family struggles and show our vulnerability. We kindly ask for your help, please!

This fight ahead is huge and by no means easy. We are blessed each day to wake up and spend time with our daughter as we know days may be limited. If love could cure cancer, Luna would be living her best life carefree like any other two-year-old.

We know things are tight for everyone right now. Everyone is feeling the pressure of constant rises with cost of living. We please ask if you can support us in anyway, whether that is just a share or donation, we would be forever grateful.

Sometimes real life hero’s live inside little children fighting big battles! Luna is our real life hero. We need kinder treatment options for our children.

If you would like to follow Luna's journey and receive daily updates and insights into what she endures, go and check out her instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/Brave.Like.Luna

Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

IT ALL STARTS WITH YOU!

WE DESPERATELY NEED YOUR HELP!!

Thank you ❤️✨

#BraveLikeLuna