2020 was always going to be a busy year for the Lord family. They were excitingly planning to build a new home & preparing for the arrival of their fourth child. But that all changed in just the click of one x-ray.

In early November 2019 the Lord's noticed that 2-year old Noah had developed a limp, but it never seemed to slow him, he continued to be the same energetic toddler as always. But after a week of rest and no improvement they began investigations into the cause of his limp.

After X-rays & an ultrasound of the hips were done & shown normal, an x-ray of his knees were done.

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"There staring at us on the screen was a large mass in his left femur. It was at that moment that life as we knew it was going to change forever." - Jamie Lord, Noah's mum

They were transferred to the Children’s Hospital Westmead Sydney the very next day. Over the course of the following days, Noah underwent several scans, biopsies, blood tests and the insertion of a central line.

Noahs' left leg was put into the first of many casts and they were told not to let him weight bear on his leg for fear of fracturing the bone around the tumour.

"In true Noah style, this did not slow him down, he learnt to master walking even with the cast on." - Jamie Lord, Noah's mum

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On the 29th Nov 2019, 4 days after being admitted to Westmead, the Lords were rocked for the worst after hearing just 4 little words… “Your son has cancer.” Noah was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma. He had a large primary mass on his left adrenal gland and it had metastasised throughout his body.

"Two days later, we began our long chemotherapy journey.” - Jamie Lord, Noah's mum

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Since then, Noah has endured 7 rounds of chemotherapy, 4 months of his leg in a cast, 1 successful tumour removal surgery, 2 stem cell transplants, 24 days of radiation therapy, 7 rounds of immunotherapy, isolation and the introduction of his newest brother.

All done while in the middle of a global pandemic.

Then two weeks before returning to Sydney, for what would have been their last round of treatment, the Lords received a call from Noah's Oncologist.... a call they wished they never had to have.

"The results of Noah’s last MIBG scan were not what we would have liked. A small collection of active cancer cells was shown on his left knee where his original tumour was.

His cancer had returned.

We were devastated and so frustrated to of come so far and being so close to the finish line.” - Jamie Lord, Noah's mum

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The Lord family returned and completed 12 days of radical radiation therapy to Noah's left femur before completing his final round of Immunotherapy. The doctors were confident that radiation would be enough treatment as it was an isolated growth of cells.

It has been hard to watch Noah suffer through such intense pain but everyday he shines bright with his passion for his beloved Superheroes, Fireman Sam, fire trucks, dinosaurs and helicopters. He shows strength and determination to beating neuroblastoma. He has amazed everyone with how he has handled such demanding treatment.

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"As tough as we have had it, we still consider ourselves the lucky ones. We embrace each day and continue to fight for not only us but for those who can no longer. We are committed to supporting Run2Cure and spreading awareness."

The Lord family is hopeful for a future with improved treatments and eventually one day a cure for neuroblastoma.

"We are eagerly looking forward to returning home to our new norm soon in 2021." - Jamie Lord, Noah's mum

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