WHEN ten-year-old Lucy Wright was diagnosed with neuroblastoma aged just eight, the childhood cancer had no idea it had picked the wrong little girl to mess with.

After two years of gruelling treatment, a seven-hour major operation has laid the foundations for her to fly to Michigan, USA, for potential life-saving treatment.

Lucy’s mum, Carrie Wright, said the surgery to remove a tumour – on Tuesday at Manchester Children’s Hospital – was a success, and they now hope to have the St Hubert’s Primary School pupil back home so she can celebrate Christmas Day with her family.

Mrs Wright said: “It’s early days yet but the surgery was a success thankfully.

“She’s got a lot of pain relief and a chest drain but is now breathing by herself without oxygen.

“She’s doing amazingly but it’s too soon to be able to say when she can come home, hopefully by Christmas Day but we have to see.”

Neuroblastoma is an aggressive form of cancer that has no cure.

Statistics show that 50 to 60 per cent of neuroblastoma children risk relapsing within two years of achieving remission.

However, in the USA, advances in paediatric oncology have shown that a two-year treatment on a drug known as DFMO is showing positive results, raising the remission rate to 84 percent.

When they heard about the trial, Mr and Mrs Wright made it their mission to enrol Lucy on the study at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Michigan.

As with anything though, the family knew this would come at a cost, so Lucy’s parents set up Lucy’s Mission to Michigan to help raise £150,000 to fly their daughter to the States for the potentially life-saving treatment.

Since then, generous donors and kind fundraisers have organised events ranging from live music nights in her home town of Great Harwood, to sponsored swims, triathlons, half marathons, head shaves and much, much more.

And on November 22, the fundraising target was eventually smashed.

But Lucy’s journey is far from over, as it could be at least another year before the Wrights can fly to Michigan to start the 10-year-old’s remission treatment as she needs to be free from cancer before the hospital will accept her.

Mrs Wright said: “We head to London in January for more high dose radiotherapy.

“We then come back to Manchester for a stem cell transplant.

“After that we start six months of immunotherapy at Manchester in the hope that at the end of that Lucy has clear scans and we can head to Michigan.

“Lucy understands everything that’s going on and we’ve always talked honestly and openly about things.

“Even though it’s early days, we hope to have her home for Christmas Day.”

Before she went in for the operation, Lucy received hundreds of messages of support from people across the country.

And just 48 hours after the surgery, the brave little girl was breathing on her own and getting brighter by the hour.

Mrs Wright added: “She wanted to say thank you so much to all the people who have sent her messages.

“It makes her feel so happy that so many people care as much as they do.

“She’s an absolute super star and is doing so well. That’s what keeps us going.”

The family are hoping to travel to Michigan at the end of 2020, but for now their only wish is to get Lucy home for Christmas Day.