Nikita Moore

Republished from The Somerset Guardian, 17th August 2006

Eleven-Year-Old Nikita Moore, from Peasedown St John, has been given three months to live by her doctor.

This is the latest, and most serious, development in the story of the young girl and her family, who have remortgaged their home to help pay for a controversial cancer treatment in America.

Nikita’s parents are now more desperate than ever to find anything that can save their daughter’s life.

She is suffering from from synovial sarcoma, a cancer on her head which has spread to her lung. Nikita’s plight was first highlighted by the Somerset Guardian in June, when her parents, Tracey and Nicholas Trezise, appealed for help in sending her to the Issels Clinic in California.

Her moving story was then featured on local ITV news and by First magazine. The public responded generously and about £9,800 has been donated.

The cost of more treatment and care for Nikita is putting an increasing burden on the family. So far they have spent £28,000 trying to save her life.

Mother and daughter have returned from their first trip to America, where the Issels clinic gave Nikita a three month supply of a vaccine which works on the theory that the body’s immune system can be strengthened to help it fight cancer. The treatment has not been recommended for use in the UK.

She has also been given a supply of vaccine made, like the Issels treatment, from her own DNA. A third type of vaccine has been supplied to encourage Nikita’s immune system to put up a stronger flight against the disease.

On her return, the family was hit by the news that the tumour on Nikita’s lung had enlarged.

“The doctors have given her three months to live, but we are not going to listen to them”, said Mrs Trezise. “I just wish there was something out there that could help - anybody out there who knows anything.”

Nikita, a pupil of Trinity Primary School in Radstock, has been diagnosed four times with various forms of cancer, starting in 1999 when she developed a tumour on the top of her head.

She knows that doctors have only given her three months, said Mrs Trezise “She cried and said ‘I don’t want to die’ and obviously it has affected her,” she added. “It sounds sad and people have been wonderful, but at the end of the day I dont think money is going to save her life. “I wish there was something out there that we could try. I would remortgage my house again if it helped.”

Nikita’s treatment also calls for a strict organic diet, and the family’s food bills have rocketed. “I am spending £30 to £40 a week on vegetables alone, just for juicing,” said Mrs Trezise. She said that she would love to hear from someone who can supply bulk organic fruit and vegetables at a reduced price.

Nikita and her parents are scheduled to return to the Californian clinic in six months, and are hoping desperately that it will not be too late. They have had help from Norton-Radstock Lions, while local people have completed sponsered skydives, runs and a walk for the cause.

Bath’s Old Culverhaysians Rugby Club has now announced that it will donate proceeds from a summer fun day on Sunday to help pay for treatment in California. Nikita’s father is the club’s resident DJ.

Fun day organiser Steve Hylands saw Nikita just after her return from America. “She came into the club with her dad. She is a lovely little girl, who is very resolved about the cancer and tried very hard,” he said. The fun day at the club runs from noon until 6pm, followed by a concert.