Last Thursday, terminally ill Newcastle teen Chelsea James travelled to Sydney for a special backstage meeting with her favourite singer.
“I was so excited to meet Beyonce again,” Chelsea, now 15, said. “I actually got to meet her backstage and talk to her and laugh with her, which was so cool. I’ll never forget this.”
Chelsea first met Beyonce in 2009, when the singer performed a special version of her hit single ‘Halo’ during a Sydney concert, changing the words to “Chelsea I can see your halo – I pray you won’t fade away”.
The special performance captured the attention of the world, getting more than one million hits on YouTube and featuring on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
When cancer charity Camp Quality found out Beyonce would be returning to Australia this year, it organised a reunion between the singer and Chelsea, who is now in palliative care after her 14th relapse.
After their meeting, Beyonce wrote Chelsea a card that read: “My beautiful angel. You have no idea how happy you made me. I will see you the next time I’m in Australia.”
Chelsea is living with a rare form of cancer known as a primitive neural ectodermal tumour, which comes with a one per cent chance of survival.
Chelsea has undergone many rounds of treatment without success and is now living in palliative care.
Camp Quality also arranged for two other girls living with cancer to meet Beyonce.
“This was a special, one-off intimate meet and greet that our three girls living with cancer and their mums will never forget,” Camp Quality spokesman Gary Nunn said.
“Even though she was about to go on stage in front of thousands, Beyonce made the time to chat to the girls and their mums, putting them at ease and telling each of them ‘You’re absolutely beautiful.’
“Beyonce is all about female empowerment and she was so inspired by the confidence-building support Camp Quality offers to kids who may look and feel differently from others their age as a result of cancer treatment, that she wanted to be part of that confidence-boost. I think it’s safe to say it worked!”
