Birmingham family hit £100k in fundraiser for toddler with cancer
Claire Jones and her family have been raising funds to help Gracie Tudor battle stage four neuroblastoma.
In March 2023, two-year-old Gracie Tudor was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma.
Her mum, Claire Jones, has been fundraising to get Gracie to New York for specialist treatment and it has hit over £100,000.
"This cancer is a really tough cookie. But she's just handling it like an absolute boss. She's smashing it. She's smiling. The nurses idolise her."
Once in America, Claire is hoping to get Gracie a vaccine, which targets the protein that makes neuroblastoma.
Gracie is currently being treated at Birmingham Children's Hospital.
This week, Gracie started her sixth cycle of chemotherapy.
Claire told us what her treatment includes: "After eight cycles of chemo, there'll be surgery - a 12-hour operation next month to extract the main tumour - then it will be radiotherapy, then it will be a stem cell transplant, and then it will be immunotherapy."
Gracie's prognosis is currently 45-50%.
Claire added: "We need to get her to New York. That's the truth of it.
"I will always blame myself if anything goes wrong. I'll never be able to live with myself. But, at this moment in time, I cannot be upset, I cannot, because I'm more focused on getting Gracie the help, and getting her into a full remission, and getting my baby back."
Along with funds, Claire is also raising awareness for neuroblastoma. She told us not enough is known about it: "Awareness is massively needed. This could have been picked up by a simple urine test that hospitals don't have, like district ones don't have it. So, we were two weeks out."
Earlier this month, Gracie was invited for a day out with Solving Kids' Cancer UK - a charity that works towards creating better outcomes for children with neuroblastoma. Its website states it is a "rare and complex cancer".
She told us she could not have done it without the kindness of those around the family: "All the community has rallied behind us so much. Without them, we would have nothing.
"They love Gracie and they love us so much. I think it touches a lot of people's hearts because they think 'it could be us'."
The fundraiser for Gracie is currently at £101,416 (at time of writing).
You can read more about Gracie's story here.