Little girl with rare cancer reduces wedding to tears singing fight song

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video

This brave little girl showed just how determined she is to beat cancer as she belted out Fight Song.

Anya Ottley, 6, confidently took to the floor at a family friends wedding, singing Rachel Plattens 2014 number one song last month.

Anya performed the poignant lyrics as she undergoes 28 gruelling rounds of intensive chemotherapy at Manchester Childrens Hospital following a kidney cancer diagnosis in November 2017.

The Little Mix superfan is due to finish her treatment for Wilms tumour next month and will have a ring-the-bell party to mark the occasion.

There she plans to sing the hit after getting in some practise at the wedding reception, delighting proud parents Kathryn and Andy, 50.

Kathryn from Bolton, Greater Manchester, said: Her performance at the wedding brought a tear to my eye and to several others in the room. It was fantastic to watch her and it made me so proud.

Advertisement

Advertisement

She adores singing and she just wants to entertain all the time. Shes a huge Little Mix fan and dreams of meeting them one day.

She added: Anya makes YouTube videos and gets excited when she tells me shes had 19 views, so to tell her one of her videos has more than one million views, she didnt really know what to say.

Anya was taken to hospital last November when Andy noticed a lump on her tummy, and blood tests confirmed she had a giant cancerous tumour in her stomach measuring 14.5cm by 9cm by 7cm.

She was referred to Manchester Childrens Hospital, which confirmed a diagnosis of Wilms tumour, a rare type of kidney cancer, on November 17.

Anya underwent surgery on the tumour and had her left kidney removed.

The treatment was initially successful, shrinking the tumour to half its size, but since January 27 Anya has been having intensive chemotherapy every Monday to try and kill off the tumour completely.

Kathryn said: Im so glad we caught it when we did otherwise we might be telling a very different story right now, I dare not think about it really.

She added: She knew something was wrong and she did ask me if she was going to die, which was heart breaking, but I told her she wouldnt and shes been so incredibly brave and strong.

Kathryn said Anyas ordeal has hit the family especially hard following her sister Rachels death from sepsis at the age of 42, four years ago.

Kathryn said: Its been really tough. My sister introduced me to Andy and named Anya as well.

She added: The possibility of losing Anya as well was almost too much to bear. But her treatment is set to finish on July 9 and she will ring that bell and enjoy her party.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Anya refuses to wear a wig given to her by the Little Princess Trust as she prefers not to hide her cancer.

Her family is raising money for the charity and Manchester Childrens Hospital and have so far raised nearly £20,000.

Their JustGiving page can be found at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/anyagrace

More: UK

Advertisement

Advertisement

[contf]
[contfnew]

METRO

[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]