The mother of a two-year-old girl who died from a rare form of childhood cancer has called for parents to be more vigilant for signs of the disease.
Exactly one year ago, doctors told Miriam and Alex Bremer that they had found a 10cm tumour in their toddler Lizzy’s abdomen. What had begun as treatment for a chest infection suddenly accelerated into Lizzy being diagnosed with stage four high-risk neuroblastoma — a cancer that affects fewer than 100 children in the UK each year.
“My legs just gave way. I remember wailing and collapsing onto a chair. Lots of tears, lots of sleepless nights. We felt a mixture of desperation and desperate hope. All of a sudden your entire life is dedicated to willing your child to survive,” said Mrs Bremer, 39, a pilates instructor whose husband Alex, 48, is a director of a digital agency.
She had initially taken Lizzy to the doctor with what she believed was a cold. But two days later she noticed a swelling on Lizzy’s temple and a doctor advised her to go to A&E where they did an ultrasound and found the tumour.
“My worst fears were confirmed that it had spread to the rest of her body, her liver, bones, legs, spine and bone marrow. She was started immediately on emergency chemotherapy.”
The couple, who live in Clapham and have a five-year-old son George, were told that thanks to advances in neuroblastoma research the survival rate had risen from 30 to 50 per cent in the last two years. But Lizzy’s condition worsened and doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital told Mr and Mrs Bremer the cancer was terminal. Lizzy spent her second birthday in hospital receiving treatment and then was brought home. The following day during a walk around Clapham Common she died.
Mrs Bremer said: “She had insisted on going out in her buggy. But suddenly something changed. She went limp and she was breathing incredibly quickly.
“I took her out of the buggy and Alex and I brought her under a tree into the shade, and we put our arms around her. She had two or three breaths left and then she died peacefully. We carried her home and had to tell our son his sister was gone.”
Mrs Bremer regularly passes the spot where Lizzy died last July and since then has been fundraising with her husband for the Neuroblastoma Society, which supports UK research.
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Mrs Bremer has already clocked up a 100-mile cycle and two half-marathons, and in April will tackle the London and Brighton marathons. She added: “It’s my therapy. I know there is something I can do and that is save others from what we had to go through.”
Miriam’s supporting Macmillan Cancer Support’s campaign to ensure no one faces cancer alone. For more information or to donate, visit www.macmillan.org.uk or call 0808 808 00 00.
