Girl wins battle with cancer that began before she was born

A THREE-year-old girl’s parents are celebrating after their brave daughter won a battle against a tumour the size of an apple.

Rosalia Daly-Maxwell’s mother and father, Natalie and Robert, noticed she regularly seemed short of breath from birth and lacked the energy of other children.

Doctors diagnosed a chest infection – but in fact the cause was an almost undetectable cancerous tumour which was growing inside her, putting terrible pressure on her lungs.

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A blood test finally revealed the tumour in her chest, which medics believe was growing as Rosalia was in the womb, and she underwent surgery to remove it as well as enduring six months of chemotherapy.

Now her parents, of Chapelfields Road, Acomb, York, have been told she is free from cancer but must have regular check-ups throughout her life.

The drama began last May when Rosalia’s breathing became very erratic and she was rushed to hospital. Her condition worsened and she was transferred to the children’s cancer ward at Leeds General Infirmary where she was diagnosed with a rare germ cell tumour.

The critical moment came last November when she had a seven-hour operation – after doctors warned the couple her condition was life-threatening.

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Mrs Daly-Maxwell, 22, said: “She was staying at my mum’s and she noticed she was breathing through her stomach, not her lungs.

“It wasn’t natural so she called me and we rushed her to hospital.”

Mr Maxwell, 36, said: “It was heart-wrenching seeing your little girl covered in wires and surrounded by surgeons.

“She was so tiny and she had to got through so much.

“She was so brave, a little fighter all the way through it and we are so proud of her.”

Mrs Daly-Maxwell is now just three weeks away from giving birth to the couple’s second daughter.