Ciara-Jordyn Merekara Woods-Ryan has been diagnosed with a rare lung cancer, Pleuropulmonary Blastoma. Video \ Jason Dorday
A 3-year-old girl, Ciara-Jordyn Woods-Ryan, is battling an exceptionally rare lung cancer.
Her mother, Hayley Woods, recently recovered from breast cancer but the cancers are not genetically related.
A Givealittle page supports the family, who are facing financial strain due to Ciara-Jordyn’s treatment.
A 3-year-old girl is battling to survive after being diagnosed with an “exceptionally rare” lung cancer – soon after her mother’s own recovery from breast cancer.
It has been a harrowing time for West Auckland parents Tim Ryan and Hayley Woods.
Woods has just finished overcoming her illness, and the couple are now facing a frightening new health scare with their little girl’s cancer diagnosis.
For mum Woods, giving birth to her bright-eyed, sassy little girl Ciara-Jordyn Woods-Ryan, or CJ, was a miracle.
Woods said her doctor told her it was unlikely she would be able to get pregnant again because of the fertility damage from chemotherapy drugs.
Ciara-Jordyn Woods-Ryan, 3, is undergoing chemotherapy treatment to fight a rare lung cancer. Photo / Jason Dorday
Ciara-Jordyn was given the middle name “Merekara”, which means miracle in te reo Māori, to acknowledge the rare gift she was to the family.
When the little girl developed a fever and sore armpit a week before Christmas last year, it began to ring alarm bells for Woods, who persisted in getting a diagnosis for CJ’s symptoms.
A scan revealed a large mass collapsing her right lung that was later identified as an extremely rare type of cancer – pleuropulmonary blastoma. Treatment for the cancer has about a 50-70% success rate.
National Child Cancer Network clinical lead and paediatric oncologist Dr Stephen Laughton said pleuropulmonary blastoma was “exceptionally rare”, with cases appearing at Starship children’s hospital probably at the rate of about one every five years.
Parents Tim Ryan (left) and Hayley Woods with Ciara-Jordyn in their West Auckland home. Photo / Jason Dorday
Further testing revealed the cancer was not genetically related to Woods’ breast cancer.
Early complications with chemotherapy treatment meant Ciara-Jordyn lost weight, was constantly vomiting, and needed her mum at her side for breastfeeding and to feed her anti-nausea medication.
“It helps to know what she needs and what she could be feeling, but knowing how hard it is and how awful she’s feeling is hard,” Woods said.
The 3-year-old is a bouncy, giggly child who, as her father explains, struggles to understand that she is sick.
CJ inside the family's rabbit hutch: "No matter how unwell she is, she always wants to go see them". Photo / Jason Dorday
She loves her pet rabbits and her older siblings, and hates being parted from her home for long hospital visits.
“A lot of the time, she doesn’t believe she’s sick, so she’s just like, ‘What are we doing? Why do we have to go and do this stuff?’,” Ryan said.
“Everything is frightening.
" A finger-prick blood test is the worst thing in the world for her.
“She’ll wet her pants and vomit. She’s so small, it’s not fair.”
Woods and Ryan have four other children from previous relationships and have had many sleepless nights juggling the stress of Ciara-Jordyn’s chemotherapy treatment with caring for their family.
She is required to stay at the hospital overnight during chemotherapy sessions and needs both parents with her due to her fears around medical treatment.
The toll on Ryan’s lawnmowing business from the breaks he has had to take to support Woods’ cancer recovery and now his baby girl has placed the family under immense financial pressure.
A Givealittle page has been set up for the family to help them better focus on Ciara-Jordyn’s care and recovery.
Her parents are continuing to hope for the very best outcome.
