The fight against cancer in the family moves to New York

A Taranaki couple, whose young son suffers from a rare form of cancer, hopes to find a cure for specialist doctors in New York.

Aly and Hayden Keeling have never been to town, but say it's one of only two places in the world that can save Corey, two years old.

"We do not really have time to wait," Aly said.

"It needs to be urgently addressed.The decisions we make now will ultimately decide whether it will survive."

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So on Wednesday, the Keelings move their lives to America.

Corey has a neuroblastoma, a cancer of the nervous system called Aly "a nasty beast".

He was diagnosed in March after Corey's daycare noticed that his stomach was hard.

An ultrasound at the Taranaki base hospital revealed a mass of 12 centimeters.

Corey was taken to Auckland for an examination at Starship Hospital and 13 hours later, he received his first dose of chemotherapy.

"The neuroblastoma tends to wrap around organs and veins, and in the case of Corey, it has invaded," Aly said.

"He has entered one of his veins, which is quite rare, and there is only one other case recorded worldwide about what Corey's cancer has done. "

After a surgery to remove the tumor, the Keelings thought they had gone through the worst, but on September 4, the tests showed the opposite.

"We went happy because, waiting for the best, and we received a phone call later that night after the results of the analysis had been obtained, they again knelt us down."

The doctors had discovered new growths as well as another area of ​​concern in Corey's brain.

The new growth meant that cancer was now classified as a relapse of the central nervous system (CNS) and could only be treated in two hospitals around the world. One in Barcelona and the other Memorial Sloane Kettering in New York.

Aly, who is American, hopes Corey will have dual nationality because he will have dual nationality.

If he does not, Aly guesses that they will have to pay about $ 2 million, which they can not afford.

Aly and Hayden left their job and live in Auckland at Ronald McDonald's since March while Corey is undergoing treatment.

A current page from GiveALittle hopes to help cover the costs of living in New York because they do not know how long they will be there.

The goal was $ 75,000 and by Monday afternoon they had raised nearly $ 26,000.

Another GiveALittle page was set up when they arrived at Starship and they were stunned by the support they received from the community, including Inglewood Rugby Club and Rampage Gym.

Former colleagues of Aly at TSB in New Plymouth had also raised funds during mufti days and bake sales and even filled the family's freezer with frozen meals.

"I wish we were not in this position and I would like them not to do it, but we are really grateful for everything that everyone has done . "

Besides her missing hair and feeding tube, Aly and Hayden said you would never know that Corey was fighting for his life.

"He runs, he is happy, he plays, he climbs, he is brazen, he is two.

"It could be the worst day for Hayden and me, but Corey still manages to smile and be happy.

"He just does not understand what's happening to him."

– Things