This is an appeal for help to save my 2 year old sons life. My name is Kimberly Robertson and back in September 2007 I noticed that my baby boy, Armani, had a swollen tummy. After rushing him to Nottingham Hospital my worst fears were realised when he was diagnosed with High Risk Neuroblastoma. The doctors said he had a tumour just above his kidney, around his right adrenal gland.

The nightmare continued when they went on to explain that Marnis Neuroblastoma is MYC-N amplified. They told me that this is the most aggressive type of this cancer and puts him in the ‘Poor Prognosis Group’. I was horrified to find out that even if he overcame the disease, there is an 80% possibility of it returning.

Marni has been receiving treatment in hospital for the last eight months, which began with several cycles of chemotherapy. Next he went through six hours of surgery while doctors tried to remove all traces of the tumour. Then in February he was taken to Sheffield for stem cell treatment, and now he is being put through a course of radiotherapy. This is the last stage of his current treatment in the UK, even though there is a strong chance of the cancer coming back

My little boy has been so brave through this horrendous ordeal, but I’m terrified that the cancer is likely to come back. As any parent would, I want the best possible treatment and every avenue explored in an effort to keep my son alive. There is treatment available in the USA called Immunotherapy or Antibody therapy which is known to increase survival rates to over 50%.

At the moment this potentially life-saving treatment is only available at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York. They have administered over 18,000 doses since 1986 with no serious side effects and under the right circumstances it is a cure. Armani gets me through and I have to keep going, I can't just give up because he's fighting it so I have to keep going too.

The initial deposit for the Antibody Therapy at this cancer centre is a staggering $350,000. Raising this amount of money alone is completely beyond my means, I don’t own a property or indeed anything of significant value. A fund-raising appeal has been launched in the hope that people will help me give my son the best possible chance of survival.

It is easy to say that the State should help but this will not happen and so I have to rely on the generosity of the public. Please forward this web address to everyone you know, as Marni needs all the help he can get.

www.marnisappeal.co.uk

Thank you all for your support.

The Royal Bank Of Scotland has kindly set up a special treasurers account. If you would like to make a donation by way of bank transfer, the account details are as follow:

Account Name: Marni's Appeal

Account Number: 10 15 21 54

Sort Code: 16-19-25

You can also use your paypal account or your credit/debit also through paypal:

To do this, click here

You can also send us a donation to:

15 Wheeler Gate, Nottingham. NG1 2NA