THE parents of a brave girl battling an aggressive and rare form of cancer have been given the devastating news that she has months to live.

Jessica Whelan, four, from Oswaldtwistle, was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma in September last year.

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The youngster has already undergone two clinical trials in a bid to overcome the cancer of specialised nerve cells involved in the development of the nervous system and other tissues but they have proved unsuccessful.

And during a routine CT scan this week it was discovered that the youngster’s cancer had progressed, leaving her with very few treatment options.

Jessica’s devastated father Andy, of Stone Bridge Lane in Oswaldtwistle, said he and his partner Nicki Prendergast must decide whether to stop treatment all together in the hope of giving their daughter the best quality of life or turn to experimental treatment.

Mr Whelan said that treatment would be invasive and there is no guarantee it would extend her life.

A decision must be made before Jessica’s next appointment at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital next week.

Mr Whelan, who has had to give up work as an electrician to look after his daughter, said: “We as a family have been rocked by the latest revelations of Jessica’s fight against this pig of a disease.

“Despite her appearing to do so well after the recent radiation treatment it looks like the cancer has started to spread further. We are now left with very few options as to where we now go on this hellish journey.

“In short there are little to no treatment options remaining, those treatments that do remain are only in the very early experimentation stages and will most likely offer no further benefit to Jessica.

“They are very intensive treatments that will most likely offer no gain but would make Jessica very poorly whilst ongoing. Our other option is to stop treatment and manage Jessica’s symptoms as they worsen and progress but to do so from the home environment where we can offer as much normality and comfort as is possible.

“We know that each child and each cancer is different but we have asked the oncologist what is the likely timeframe we have to work with and he has told us that in his experience we are now looking at a lifespan more based on months rather than anything more.

“This has come as a massive shock to us as although we knew this day could and most likely would come around we certainly did not expect it so soon especially not with her recent wellbeing.”

A new go fund me page has been set up to allow the family to provide the best possible care and fun experiences for Jessica.For information, go to www.gofundme.com/caringforjessica or search for Jessica Whelan - A fight against Neuroblastoma on Facebook.