Cancer is a horrible thing to begin with, but when it touches the life of a child, it somehow seems all the more tragic.
Lottie Woods-John is a 4-year-old girl who has been diagnosed with a rare type of cancer called neuroblastoma.
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, neuroblastoma is the result of cancerous changes in sympathetic nervous system cells—cells involved in the automatic responses of the body. The condition is rare, with less than 100 children being diagnosed in the UK each year; sadly, however, most of those afflicted are under the age of 5 years old.
Lottie’s stage-4 neuroblastoma is particularly aggressive, having already begun attacking the 4-year-old’s tiny bones and marrow.
Despite undergoing a 13-hour operation to remove the vast majority of her 12cm cancerous tumor, Lottie’s still needs an innovative vaccine treatment only available in the United States— at a cost of about $256,000.
The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center says that this type of treatment can “train” the body’s immune system to fight cancer and is most effective for “patients with only minimal residual tumor in their body”— patients just like Lottie.
The treatment is ridiculously expensive— but one Ex-Royal Marine is determined to help!
After coming across Lottie’s story, ex-marine Matthew Goodman knew he had to do something. He tells The Sun:
“I was heartbroken to read her battle against childhood cancer. Her prognosis means she has an 85% chance of relapse. As a father myself, I couldn’t imagine seeing my baby daughter Freya suffering like that, and I knew I had to help in some way.”
So, in an effort to raise money for Lottie’s family, Matthew has put his 3 war medals up for sale on eBay, planning to donate whatever profits he makes directly to the little girl’s treatment.
The kind-hearted ex-Marine tells The Sun, “My medals were just sitting in my drawer doing nothing, and I thought they could be used for something worthwhile. They were awarded for the sacrifices I made, but I’m happy to forego that honor if it means helping a little girl in desperate need.”
Lottie’s family was shocked by the stranger’s kind-hearted gesture.
Lotties’ mother Charlotte tells the Sun, “He risked his life for those medals and the fact that he’s not even met Lottie, but wants to help keep her alive is mind-blowing… I can’t thank him enough.”
Matthew has said that once his medals are sold, he will instead be decorating himself with childhood cancer awareness ribbons from now on.
Despite everything the ex-Marine had to go through to get his medals, Matthew clearly has no regrets about his decision, telling The Sun:
