Fundraising continues for baby Lilly

28 January 2011, 06:00 | Updated: 10 February 2011, 14:42

A family from Dunstable - which needs £300,000 so their daughter can have life saving treatment - is getting ready for a sponsored swim, to add to the cash they've already raised.

1-year-old Lilly MacGlashan has a rare form of cancer called 4S Neuro Blastoma. She's been treated in this country since she was six-weeks-old - but now needs to go to America or Germany for treatment called immunotherapy which will help improve her chances of survival.

When Lilly was first diagnosed with cancer, her parents thought it would be relatively easy to beat the cancer. But when their daughter was six months old, her doctors were surprised to see the cancer had spread to her brain. To treat the spread of the illness, Lilly has recently had one week of high dose chemotherapy - as well as stem cell treatment.

And Lilly has responded well. She's just been taken off her feeding tube and is starting to taste food properly. Her mum - 42-year-old Dawn MacGlashan - says her development isn't too far behind that of her twin sister, Molly.

The family are hoping the trip abroad will provide Lilly with the treatment she needs to finally recover fully from her illness. They ideally need to go by the end of February - which will be within 100 days of Lilly having the stem cell therapy.

Mrs MacGlashan told Heart:

"Ever since we've had Lilly it's just been never ending stress. It's never been easy. She's had to battle and fight so much and now it feels that we've got another big battle ahead to get her this last treatment that she so desperately needs."

The sponsored swim is taking place at Lewsey Farm Swimming Pool on Sunday 6th February and, across Dunstable and parts of Luton, shops and families have been helping raise money for Lilly.

Mrs MacGlashan says she's been amazed by the community support:

"It's just absolutely overwhelming. It just makes you realise that there are brilliant people out there. It makes so much of a difference. You always read about bad things or see bad things on the TV and when something like this happens it makes you realise that the good outweighs the bad."

Click here to find out more about Lilly and how you can get involved with the fundraising appeal.