One-year-old girl diagnosed with high risk nervous system cancer to travel for life-saving treatment

"Our fun-loving, mischievous, adorable baby girl..."

A one-year-old girl diagnosed with a high risk form of cancer needs to travel abroad for potentially life-saving treatment. Tessa was just 14-months-old when her parents, Mark Garry and Orla Waters, discovered that she had stage four Neuroblastoma - a cancer of the central nervous system. She began treatment in Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin late last year. Before summer 2020, she will have underwent surgery, chemotherapy, stem cell transplantation, radiation therapy and immunotherapy. However, in order to reduce her risk of relapse, Tessa's parents have said that she needs to take part in a clinical trial, treatment for which is not available in Ireland. "Relapse is a huge concern with Neuroblastoma, occurring in half of cases," they said. "And, when it does occur, sadly, survival rates are very low. "Therefore, after her initial treatment, it is vital that we do everything we can to reduce the chance that Tessa will relapse by having her take part in a clinical trial." Mark and Orla said that their daughter has been receiving "superb care" in Crumlin, but that she will ultimately need to travel to give her the best chance of being cancer free. "Tessa is our fun-loving, mischievous, adorable baby girl," they said. "She loves dancing to baby shark, munching on chocolate buttons, climbing up on her little armchair and driving her pink car. "More than anything, Tessa loves to play with her three big siblings, Michael, Leo and Anna." Tessa's parents have since set up a GoFundMe to ensure they can go abroad for their daughter's treatment. They need to raise €375,000 to achieve their goal. You can check out Tessa's campaign here.