Father Shares Heartbreaking Photo of Young Daughter’s Cancer Battle

By Shefali Shrivastava on November 4, 2016 at 1:33 PM

A father in England is sharing his daughter’s fight with childhood cancer with the world after doctors told them she only has weeks to live. Andy Whelan posted a photo of his 4-year-old daughter, Jessica, on a Facebook post reflecting her journey with neuroblastoma, a rare form of childhood cancer caused by nerve cells that cause tumors.

Andy Whelan, of clayton-Le-Moors, posted the photo Saturday on the Facebook page, Jessica Whelan – A fight against Neuroblastoma. Jessica was diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma in 2015, and her father has been sharing her fight since the diagnosis. He wrote on his daughter’s fundraiser website that a trip to the doctor in early October revealed that her cancer is progressing and there’s nothing medically that can be done now to help Jessica.

“The conversation with Jessica’s oncologist has revealed that in his experience, with the progression he has seen, he believes that Jessica’s expected life should now be measured in months rather than anything more,” Whelan wrote. Whelan says now, even in moments where he and her mother can offer no comfort to his daughter when she is in writhing pain, he and her mother can only offer love and to make her comfortable.
This photo shows Jessica Whelan in a happier time. She was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in October 2015. A year later, she was given just months to live.
Whelan also set up a GoFundMe page, Creating happiness for Jessica, to help provide his daughter as much enjoyment as possible in the short time she has left. On Thursday morning, the Facebook page had received more than 8,500 shares and more than 6,000 comments. The GoFundMe account had more than doubled the goal of 20,000 British pounds.

One Direction star Harry Styles contacted the family after he saw the social media post. The host of a local radio station in the Wirral, Beverley Macca, had contacts at Harry’s management company and arranged for him to phone and Andy is now hoping to arrange a call with the singer.