Young girl from Chipping Norton battling a rare bone cancer has received promising news after her treatment in New York

A young girl from Chipping Norton battling a rare bone cancer has received the amazing news that all of her tests and scans have come back clear after immunotherapy treatment in New York.

The family of Anna Drysdale have welcomed the news and thanked everyone for their continued support.

The only slight setback is that Anna fell during a physiotherapy session and broke her arm across the bone graft.

Keeley Drysdale, Anna’s mum, said: "We are truly grateful for everyone’s continued support."

In February 2017 Anna, then aged five, was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.

Anna underwent three years of gruelling treatment involving numerous intensive rounds of chemotherapy and major surgery to remove the large tumour and whole humerus from her left shoulder and arm which was replaced with the fibula bone from her right leg.

By the end of last year Anna was in remission but undergoing regular MRI and CT scans as the risk of further recurrences is extremely high and very likely.

Treatment options in the UK were by then very limited so Anna’s parents researched all options and treatments worldwide and Anna was matched to and accepted on a new targeted therapy treatment for the prevention of recurrence of Osteosarcoma at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) in New York.

Through the huge efforts and generosity of our local and wider community and with an incredibly generous anonymous donation, Anna was able to start her treatment in New York in January this year.

Now Anna’s family have received the amazing news that all of Anna's tests and scans had come back clear so she had finished her immunotherapy treatment.

In November last year, Anna’s sister Ellen was diagnosed with Scoliosis (curvature of the spine) which required surgery – so once Anna’s treatment had completed, the family travelled to Dallas for Ellen to have surgery.

Ellen’s operation was a success and they were looking forward to being able to return to their home in Chipping Norton - but two weeks ago, Anna had a fall during a physiotherapy session and broke her arm across the bone graft.

Meanwhile, Anna’s team of supporters continue to fundraise to cover the costs of any tests and treatment Anna may need in the future.

A field of sunflowers has been planted at the William Fowler Allotments in Chipping Norton and there will be another open day this Sunday (August 30), 10am to 4pm, when people can come along and pick the sunflowers and have their photos taken in the field.

The sunflower field has been planted in memory of Charlotte Taylor who was well-known and well-loved by many in the Chipping Norton area and who sadly died of cancer in 2017.

Keeley added: "The sunflower field is such a lovely tribute to Charlotte and her beautiful family and we appreciate all the effort and hard work that’s gone into making this happen.

"We’re sorry we’re not able to be there to see the sunflowers ourselves but we all love seeing the pictures, especially Anna who thinks it’s wonderful."

If you are unable to come to the sunflower field but would like to make a donation, you can do so at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/anna-drysdale