Telford mum shares shock photos of five-year-old daughter before 20cm cancer tumour removal

Debbie O'Kelly says she posted the photos of five-year-old Dulcie on Instagram to stop something similar happening to someone else's child and to show what her beloved daughter had to live with inside her.

Signs of the neuroblastoma were missed for more than a year until Debbie pushed for more tests. Stage 4 neuroblastoma was diagnosed in December.

"I’ve been back and forth about whether I should post these photos," said Debbie on Instagram. But, I hope that sharing it may stop this from happening to someone else’s child, and it shows what Dulcie has had to live with inside her little body."

The tumour weighed 1.2kg – more than a bag of sugar. It was removed in a recent operation and soon after little Dulcie delighted her classmates by paying a short visit to Lawley Primary School.

Debbie said: "Dulcie’s tumour was over 20cm in size. Her docs decided to take her tumour out which is rarely done before high dose chemotherapy is commenced, however they decided to do things differently."

Dulcie is eager to get back to school after the Easter break and has been sent some technical wizardry to allow her to take part in lessons remotely.

"If you ask Dulcie what she wants to be you could get a different answer every day," said Debbie. "She said today that she wants to be a vampire!

"But she also says she wants to be a vet or zoo keeper. She loves red pandas and we hope to be able to get to see them at the safari park."

Dulcie is now four weeks post-operation but there are months of treatment lined up for her after Easter.

She will be six on June 21 but the family is planning to hold an early birthday party in May because she might have to be in hospital on the big day itself.

In the meantime fundraising continues in case traditional treatments don't work and they have to move on to more cutting-edge options. Recent fundraising events in the community have helped take the total raised up to around £50,000 but much more will be needed if it comes to more radical options.

Debbie said: "To those who are supporting us and her, we can’t even begin to describe how thankful we are. You are all giving our little girl a chance at growing into the amazing young lady I know she will become."

Dulcie was pictured last week in her school uniform in a 'pose by the front door' school photo.

The fundraising campaign is no longer on GoFundMe. It has a new website home at solvingkidscancer.org.uk/appeal/dulcie.

People can also donate by text - send 'Dulcie' followed by any whole amount up to £20 to 70085. This will cost your donation plus your standard network charge. It won’t matter if you leave a space before the number, if you include a ‘£’ sign or whether you use upper or lower case.

Among fundraising events coming up is a pink-themed coffee morning on May 4 at The Beauty Cutz salon in Birchfield Way, Lawley, with coffee, tea and cakes and a raffle.

And in the next few weeks Debbie is planning to hold a spin-athon in the garage at their Lawley home.

You can follow Dulcie’s journey on on Instagram @dulcies_neuroblastoma_journey