Family shares hidden cost of cancer care
Maya, 13, from Hythe in Kent, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma when she was three.
**Family reveals hidden cost of cancer care**
The family of Maya, 13, from Hythe, say they have faced a growing financial strain while caring for her after she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma.
The parents of a teenage girl with a rare childhood cancer say the hidden expenses of looking after their daughter have left them fearing they could lose their home.
Maya, 13, from Hythe in Kent, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at the age of three, but relapsed in 2023 after being in remission for five years.
Her mother, Dellanie, said the pressure of paying the mortgage and bills while she and her husband, Terry, are working less to care for Maya is continuing to take its toll on their family of five.
Dellanie, an NHS nurse, said: "Whilst your child is poorly and you are fighting for her life, the bills don't stop coming."
She added: "My husband has lost his income as he is caring for Maya, and these days you need two people working just to keep your head above water.
"It has been very, very difficult but our aim has always been to to look after our child as well as each other.
"I always put a brave face on - of course I'm hurting, but I can't be in the corner crying."
Maya, whom her mother described as a "larger than life person" who loves animals and music, was first diagnosed with neuroblastoma near her adrenal gland when she was three-years-old.
Dellanie says Maya is a "larger than life person" who loves animals and music.
Neuroblastoma is a rare cancer that mainly affects children under five-years-old, and around 100 children are diagnosed with it each year in the UK, according to Cancer Research UK.
After first going into remission, Maya's neuroblastoma returned three years ago, and she has since been cared for by specialist teams including at the Royal Marsden hospital in London and Great Ormond Street Hospital.
In 2025, during a clinical trial of CAR T-cell therapy, a technique currently used to treat some types of leukaemia and lymphoma, Maya developed a brain injury which Dellanie said left her "profoundly disabled".
Her disability meant Terry had to leave his job to care for Maya full time, while Dellanie reduced her working hours to care for her and support her husband.
Dellanie said: "I just have to be grateful for what we have got.
"At the moment, Maya is a fighter and there is so much fight in her."
Charity Young Lives vs Cancer says families of children with cancer face average extra costs of around £700 a month, and an average loss of income of about £6,000 per household.
Sonia Malik, the charity's associate policy director, said: "We find people are having to dip into savings, and most of these costs are immediate.
"It impacts the whole family and their lives are thrown into chaos.
"The financial stress should be the last thing families have to think about."
Malik said that some support is available for cancer patients and their carers, such as financial support from charities, disability benefits and carer's allowance, but it can take time for families to receive benefits support.