A YOUNG couple have told how their ‘world collapsed’ when their three-year-old daughter was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer.

Little Jessica Whelan now faces months of chemotherapy, surgery and a stem cell transplant as she battles Stage 4 Neuroblastoma, which affects fewer than 100 children each year.

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Her parents Nicki Prendergast, 27, and Andy Whelan, 29, from Stone Bridge Lane, Oswaldtwistle, said their ‘perfect family’ has been rocked to the core by the diagnosis.

Andy said: “Jessica seemed perfectly fine until around July when she complained of pain in her shoulder and stomach. She was originally treated for inflammation of the bone or bone marrow, but she continued to be lethargic.

“Jessica was given a series of tests and eventually, on September 23, doctors at Manchester Children’s Hospital told us that she had Stage 4 Neuroblastoma.

“It was worst possible thing we could hear. I was numb and couldn’t even talk about it at first.”

Nicki said: “I was hysterical when we were told - it was like everything blacked out.

“Jessica is a lovely independent girl; she has her own mind and is very cheeky.

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“She absolutely loves being outdoors and her biggest joy was being with the horses at Accrington Riding Centre.

“At pre-school she would be the only one outside in the rain with her coat on.

“She was head of her class and was progressing so well she had been put up to the next age group.”

On the advice of doctors in Manchester, the family have agreed a treatment plan over the next 10 months which will see Jessica undergo surgery in the new year, followed by stem cell treatment and chemotherapy.

Andy, who is taking a break from his job as an electrician to look after his daughter, said: “At the moment she’s having induction chemotherapy.

“She doesn’t fully realise what’s happening and just thinks she has a sore tummy.

“When we told her she would lose her hair, she just said ‘it will make me look like you, Daddy’.”

Jessica is currently fed from a tube and is unsteady on her feet, but her parents said in recent weeks, despite the treatment, her ‘sparkle’ had returned.

Neuroblastoma is a cancer of specialised nerve cells, called ‘neural crest cells’.

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These cells are involved in the development of the nervous system and other tissues.

It accounts for six per cent of childhood cancer registrations in the UK, with around 95 diagnoses annually and is most common in children under the age of five.

Andy and Nicki, who have a nine-month old son, James, are keen to acknowledge the invaluable support of the their family and friends during the traumatic time.

Andy said: “My parents, Sharon and Struan Jackson, and Nicki’s mum and dad, Marilyn and Geoff, have supported us while we’ve been away with Jessica in hospital.

“They have looked after James and they have been our rock. We couldn’t have coped without them.

“We’ve also been overwhelmed by the support of our friends and the community of Oswaldtwistle.

“Jessica and our family have had so much support and and encouragement from so many people, even strangers.

“It means so much to us that people care about our daughter.”

Before Jessica’s harrowing diagnosis, the family were planning a break to Disneyland Paris this month.

Close family friend Lesley Walton, who works at Accrington Riding Centre, has set up a fundraising page so that the family can go ahead with the trip on another date, if doctors give the go ahead.

The page has so far raised more than £4,000 and will also be used to treat the family to days out.

To make a donation to help the family, go to crowdfunding.justgiving.com/lesley-walton.