Cancer-stricken schoolgirl facing Christmas in US hospital and a life without children; Brave Grace Roberts, from Ashington, could spend Christmas in hospital in Florida after being diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma.
Byline: Michael Muncaster
Schoolgirl Grace Roberts is facing Christmas in a foreign hospital as she prepares for the biggest fight of her life.
A perfectly healthy girl, her life was turned upside down when chronic lower back pain and weight loss was diagnosed as a rare form of bone cancer likely to stop her ever having a family.
Doctors were left baffled and thought the 11-year-old may have injured her coccyx bone. She was prescribed pain medication and underwent physiotherapy.
But as the teenager's health continued to deteriorate, further testsat Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI)revealed the devastating news that she had a malignant tumour in her pelvis.
Doctors then diagnosed Grace with Ewing Sarcoma - a rare type of cancer that affects bones or the tissue around bones - in August this year.
Heartbroken mum Emma Fergus said: "It came as a massive shock because we had gone from thinking she was injured to having cancer. It was crushing for everyone."
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Grace,of Ashington, Northumberland, was admitted to hospital where she was fitted with a Hickman line.
And on Monday,the Ellington Primary Schoolpupil starts her third round of gruelling chemotherapy.
Nursery nurse Emma, 34, said: "It is really tough on her and it is not a nice process to go through. Her hair has fallen out but she was very brave about that.
"She gets very anxious and upset when she has to start something new but then she just gets on with it.
"I don't know where she gets that strength from. We always say to each other that she gives me the courage to go on and I do the same for her."
Following six rounds of chemotherapy, Grace is set to fly to Jacksonville, Florida, US, where she will undergo proton beam therapy, paid for by the NHS.
The treatment is a highly-targeted type of radiotherapy which can treat hard-to-reach cancers and has a lower risk of damaging the surrounding tissue.
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Around 140 patients a year are sent abroad fromacross the NHS- mostly to the US and Switzerland - at a cost of around [pounds sterling]114,000.
Grace will be joined by her mum and grandmother Loraine Gess as she prepares to spend three months in America receiving treatment. It is likely they will even spend Christmas day on American soil.
The teenager's dad, 47-year-old Jason...
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