The parents of a Gateshead five-year-old who has faced down a heartbreaking cancer diagnosis with "trademark sass" are looking to raise £105,000 to get her to the USA for treatment to prevent a relapse. Annabel Ashmore, 5, lives in Whickham with parents Mike and Libby. She was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma in April 2023.
Heartbreakingly, the disease has a long-term survival rate of between 40 and 50% - and is responsible for 15% of all childhood cancer deaths. Annabel became seriously ill - experiencing "so much back pain she couldn't move" - but visiting the GP did not bring answers. Read more: Inspectors find illegal drugs trade 'thriving' at overcrowded HMP Durham Keep up to date with all the latest breaking news and top stories from the North East with our free newsletter It was only when the little girl was carried into A&E, her parents saying they'd not leave until they found out what was wrong with Annabel, that tests brought the news every parent dreads.
Annabel and her family were told she had cancer. Mum Libby retold the story, saying: "Annabel was in so much back pain she couldn’t move. After five weeks, with no ready answers from doctors, my beautiful little girl was immobile and a bag of bones.
"We carried her to A&E and said we weren’t leaving until we got answers. They did tests and we got the news every parent dreads – they found a tumour near her kidney. "They admitted her to the children’s oncology ward immediately – but it was weeks unti.