The parents of a six-year-old girl with an incurable cancerous tumour are urging Recorder readers to sign their petition for more research into the condition.
In April Kaleigh Lau, of Snakes Lane East, Woodford Green, was diagnosed with an aggressive and inoperable brain tumour, known as diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG).
The survival rate is less than one per cent.
The Ray Lodge pupil is seven months into the nine month life expectancy after diagnosis, and the petition has 10 days to reach the 100,000 signatures to be debated in Parliament. We need your help.
If every Recorder reader gets three of their family and friends to sign, then there may be a chance of getting more research into DIPG.
Father Scott Lau, 40, said: “The important thing for people to understand is we are not doing this for Kaleigh, we are doing it for everyone. We do not want another family to go through what we have.”
He remembers the exact moment he was told Kaleigh had an incurable brain tumour.
It was April 19 this year, and Scott and his wife Yang had just been taken into a small waiting room in Great Ormond Street Hospital by a group of doctors.
He explained: “They said ‘Mr Lau your daughter has a brain tumour, there’s no cure in the world for this’. They couldn’t look me in the eye.”
Kaleigh had been suffering from double vision four days earlier.
After being transferred from hospital to hospital, they were eventually taken to Great Ormond Street at 3am, which was when Scott “knew something was wrong”.
Two days later Kaleigh was diagnosed with DIPG.
Ever since then Scott and Yang have been campaigning for more research funding for brain tumours and DIPG.
They have recruited celebrity supporters to back the campaign including the X Factor judges and J.K. Rowling, but the petition is currently 75,000 signatures short.
Scott explained: “Whilst other cancer research has improved survival rates over the years, the lack of funding for DIPG means there has been no improvement.”
Kaleigh now undergoes radiotherapy regularly.
“I couldn’t ask for any more from a daughter,” Scott adds.
As another reminder if every Recorder reader gets three of their friends and family to sign Scott’s petition for more DIPG research funding, then MPs will debate it in Parliament.
Please help Kaleigh and sign at petition.parliament.uk/petitions/131556.
You can find out more information and donate at kaleigh.ethanet.co.uk.
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