All that Andrea and Orlando Brown want for Christmas is the money to pay for critical surgery for their one-year-old daughter.

At six months old, Courtney-Ann Brown, the couple's only child, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma. According to the United States' National Cancer Institute, this is "cancer that arises in immature nerve cells and affects mainly infants and children."

The child had initially developed a lump on the left of her neck, leading doctors to think it was an enlarged lymph node, and treated it as such. However, it did not go away, and, after a biopsy, it was discovered that Courtney-Ann had stage four cancer.

spread to marrow

Courtney-Ann's problems only got worse as the lump grew aggressively until it turned into a large mass, and doctors later discovered that the cancer had spread to her bone marrow. "She now needs a bone marrow transplant, but there is nowhere here that we can do it. So we found somewhere that will do it for roughly US$500,000 ($39.5 million)," Mrs Brown said.

She added that all of the money needed to be deposited before the surgery could be scheduled at the Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York, where the family is planning to take the baby for treatment. This has pushed the family to try harder to get the funds.

"Basically, we're begging Jamaica for help, not asking, we're begging!" Mrs Brown said.

Since Courtney's diagnosis, she has had to undergo chemotherapy in cycles. So far, she has completed five cycles at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) where she is being treated. This has not come cheap for her parents, who shelled out a little more than $100,000 for each treatment, which is six days long.

A letter from Dr D. Brady-West, a haematologist/oncologist from the UHWI, indicated that the child can only get the treatment she needs overseas, as it is not available locally. She said that Courtney will need consolidation therapy, which may involve more chemotherapy and autologus stem cell transplant.

"Further, while chemotherapy may be administered locally, facilities are not available for stem cell transplantation. It is with this in mind that medical consultation and therapy is being pursued overseas," the letter said.

So far the family has raised $135,000. However, they are short by millions and are asking Jamaica to help them get treatment for their daughter.

Anyone wishing to help can make donations to the Mandeville branch of Bank of Nova Scotia; account number 625326.