A four-year-old girl whose photograph came to represent the “darkness that is childhood cancer” has died after a year-long battle with the illness.
Jessica Whelan of Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, died on Sunday from neuroblastoma, a rare but aggressive cancer that mostly affects babies and young children, and her parents have said that the loss brings both “sadness and relief”.
Jessica’s dad, Andy Whelan, had been documenting his daughter’s health plight in a bid to raise awareness for childhood cancers and he confirmed that his “beautiful princess” had died in a Facebook post at the weekend.
“I feel both sadness and relief in informing you all that Jessica finally found peace at seven o’clock this morning,” Mr Whelan wrote on Sunday. “No longer does she suffer, no longer does she feel the pain of the physical constraints of her body.”
Andy Whelan with daughter Jessica. PHOTO: Jessica Whelan.
The little girl’s death comes just weeks after Andy shared a touchingly tragic photo of a terminally ill Jessica withering in agony, to highlight the horrible toll the disease takes on families watching loved ones in pain.
The family had set up a fundraising page on 7 October to raise money to help give Jessica “as much happiness and enjoyment as possible” in the final weeks of her life.
They managed to reportedly raise more than $160,000 (£97,000) but as the girl’s condition got worse the family said that the money would be donated to childhood cancer research.
Jessica Whelan. PHOTO: Facebook.
Mr Whelan said he agonised over sharing the black and white photo of his daughter but, as he explained at the time in a lengthy Facebook post, he believed it was important to show just how devastating cancer can be.
Andy said he didn’t want to offend or upset anyone by sharing the image but said, “I do mean however to educate and shock those that see it in its context.”
“Perhaps by seeing this photo people not in our position will be made aware of the darkness that is childhood cancer, perhaps these same people may be able to do something about it so that in the future no child has to suffer this pain, so that no parent has to bear witness to their own flesh and blood deteriorating daily,” he wrote.
Andy said that losing his daughter is a “massive part” of him being ripped away.
“I told her again that it was okay for her to close her eyes and go to sleep and I kissed her forehead and her lips numerous times,” he wrote on the post about her death.
“It seems like this is what she needed to finally allow her to find comfort in her passing as within eight hours of this cuddle she finally took her final breath.”
Jessica Whelan. PHOTO: Facebook.
Neuroblastoma is a particularly cruel disease and is almost exclusively a childhood cancer occurring most commonly between the ages of 0-5 years and affects about 40 children in Australia each year.
Because it is rare family doctors find it hard to diagnose but the cancer can be deadly, accounting for 15 per cent of all paediatric cancer deaths in Australia, reports the Children’s Cancer Institute.
“There are many different types that behave very differently,” says Neuroblastoma Australia. “At one end of the spectrum are benign tumours that may even resolve spontaneously, while at the other end are aggressive tumours with an average survival rate of 40 per cent.”
According to the organisation, the cure rate for “high-risk” tumours has only improved marginally in recent years but there is clear hope that this rate will change with some new drug discoveries coming through – something that Jessica Whelan’s father would like to see happen sooner, rather than later.
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