My 4yo complained her gum was sore … then doctors told me it could end her life

“I thought they would give her some antibiotics and send us home,” the devastated Newcastle mum reveals. “I couldn’t have been more wrong.”

When Bec took her daughter, Roxy, to the dentist the very next day after complaining about a ‘sore’ on her gums, she was at first concerned about what dental work she may need.

But as soon as the then four-year-old opened her mouth, her life instantly changed forever. 

“I thought she had an abscess, but the dentist suspected something entirely different and sent us straight to the hospital emergency department,” the Newcastle mum tells Kidspot. 

“I thought we would go there and get some antibiotics. I was very wrong.” 

RELATED: 'I thought my body aches were signs of aging … then I was diagnosed with cancer'

Roxy complained of a 'sore' on her gums. Source: Supplied

“They told me, ‘Your daughter has leukaemia’”

On that same day, on August 19, 2021, Bec was delivered the most heartbreaking news she never, ever expected. 

“They told me, ‘Your daughter has leukaemia’,” the 44-year-old remembers vividly. 

“It was in a lockdown at the time, and [husband] Dylan wasn’t allowed to be with us, so I had to tell him that Roxy had cancer on the phone. Instantly, you think the worst is going to happen.”  

Roxy’s carefree life of attending preschool and playing with her older siblings instantly turned into rounds of gruelling chemotherapy to treat her type B Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). 

The little girl has bravely endured 15 lumbar punctures, with still more to come.  

“You feel so helpless because you can’t take the cancer away for her,” she says, fighting back tears. 

“At the same time, I feel so proud of her because she just gets on with it, no matter what comes. She is amazing.” 

RELATED: Kellie Finlayson shares incredible update in battle against bowel cancer

Roxy is undergoing chemotherapy. Source: Supplied

“You have to make each day matter”

Contracting influenza A has also sent Roxy to hospital twice, and she was admitted again recently with COVID. 

Incredibly, throughout her treatment, Roxy still managed to begin kindergarten (prep) and is now thriving at school. 

“She loves going to school with her friends and being active,” the proud mum-of-three says supportively. 

“I’m not going to lock her up and keep her away from everyone. It’s a balancing act. You just have to make each day matter.” 

Now six years old, Roxy is still undergoing chemotherapy, almost two years after her diagnosis. 

“She is on maintenance now and is responding well to it, so that gives me hope,” Bec says.  

“But I still have moments where I fear the worst. We know it could come back at any time.” 

The Kids’ Cancer Project, which has its 30th anniversary this year, is an independent charity raising funds to ensure researchers can continue developing kinder, more effective cancer treatments for kids like Roxy. The ongoing research has seen the survival rate of ALL rise to over 80 per cent.

Originally published as My 4yo complained her gum was sore … then doctors told me it could end her life