COURAGEOUS Ragen Lonsdale is facing her toughest battle yet.

The brave seven-year-old who has fought cancer for three years is this week undergoing her strongest dose of chemotherapy at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Pendlebury.

Ragen's courage has inspired her community to rally round and their generosity and fund-raising helped Ragen and her family visit Disney World in September.

Before she left, they were told the cancer was in remission but only one day after their return, doctors broke the news that Ragen had developed another tumour. Now the money raised has enabled her parents, Colette and Billy, of Park Avenue, Great Harwood, to travel to Manchester daily to be at her bedside, helping her through her ordeal. Since she was four, Ragen has undergone operations for tumours on her kidney and lung and is now receiving treatment for a tumour in her chest which is touching her lung and is near her heart.

She underwent chemotherapy two weeks ago but was not allowed home as her temperature had risen and doctors wanted to monitor her condition. This week she is having a second course of chemotherapy.

Her aunt, Beverley Lonsdale, said: "Ragen is a real fighter and it's terrible to see she is losing all her hair again.

"It was such a shock for the family to come back from a lovely holiday and be told so quickly that the cancer had returned.

"Her parents are taking one day at a time and just getting on with it."

Beverley added that the family were keen to thank everyone who had helped with the fund-raising.

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