And none more so than the Thomas family.   

When their first child Edwina was only two years old, she was diagnosed with a devastating childhood cancer.  

It was an aggressive stage 4 cancer called neuroblastoma, that was rapidly spreading to her legs from the primary tumor in her adrenal gland in her abdomen.

“In terms of neuroblastoma, it’s kind-of a hard cancer to treat so they just have to throw everything at it,” Edwina’s mum Beth Thomas said.

Edwina was diagnosed with stage 4 neurovlastoma at age two.

There is no standard treatment for neuroblastoma, leaving Edwina’s future uncertain.

Edwina’s little body had to endure 18 months of harsh treatments including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, stem cell transplants and immunotherapy – all of which have lifelong side effects for her hearing, lung function, bones, teeth and endocrine system.   

Thankfully though, Edwina is now 10 years old and celebrating her seven-year milestone of being cancer-free!  

Beth said the family is so grateful they’re now able to enjoy ‘everyday’ family moments together, along with all the usual cheeky banter between Edwina, her eight-year-old brother Harry and sister Pippa, aged five.

“Just being able to do stuff as a family, have the experiences together that we didn’t think we were going to have,” Beth said.

Neuroblastoma is a rare cancer that develops in nerve tissue in cells called neuroblasts, and is most common in infants and children under five years of age. 

With no targeted treatment, more research is desperately needed to improve our understanding of neuroblastoma and find treatments that have less side effects than current therapies.

The Longest Table, as the annual cancer fundraiser for The Hospital Research Foundation Group, is committed to fighting for continued research and improved care for cancers like Neuroblastoma.