Little Rara’s devastating cancer diagnosis after crying in pain for months

A little Queensland girl who spent months crying in pain before doctors delivered her stage 4 cancer diagnosis has started a “princess club” for those who don’t want hair getting in the way of their tiaras.

A little girl who spent three months crying in pain before doctors delivered her stage 4 cancer diagnosis has started a “princess club” for those who don’t want hair getting in the way of their tiaras.

Heartbroken to see their little girl questioning why only she was losing hair, Emerara Kennedy’s parents took to the clippers to show her that they were all fighting her neuroblastoma together.

Emerara‘s uncle Connor Paku, aunty Kymlee Kennedy, aunty Kiyah Paku and uncle Seth O'Brian have joined the princess club.

A dozen family members and friend have since joined the club.

The three-year-old, also known as Rara, hasn’t been home to Maryborough since an ultrasound discovered the kidney tumour in late November.

Her mother Stevee Kennedy said they had known something was wrong for some time, and it was a long battle to find answers.

They were initially told Emerara probably had a urinary tract infection and could be exaggerating her pain.

Stevee and Terry Kennedy with shaved heads with their daughter Emerara, 3, who is fighting neuroblastoma, East Brisbane. Picture: Liam Kidston

“She would cry a lot, asking me to make her tummy stop hurting so I would take her to the doctors but we kept getting sent home with the same answers,” Ms Kennedy said.

“Her cancer is rare one so it’s difficult to notice until it gets to a certain stage.

“I felt an extreme amount of guilt when we got the diagnosis because I hadn’t been able to make the doctors hear us sooner.”

Ms Kennedy said the past month had been scary for the family who were processing that the next two years may be spent in and out of hospital.

They’ve been told that Emerara is “high risk” and has a 40 per cent chance of surviving five years with the disease.

“We’re trying to be as hopeful as possible but everywhere we’ve looked for information doesn’t give us answers past five years,” Ms Kennedy said.

“We won’t have any answers until she finishes her rounds of chemotherapy.”

Emerara shaves her aunty Sandy Kennedy 's head with the help of mum Stevee Kennedy.

Mature beyond her years, Emerara has taken interest in monitoring her own vital signs which has dubbed “beep beeps”.

The independent little girl also takes great pride in being a big sister to brother Ezrah, 2, who her parents are trying to maintain some normalcy for as they live in cancer support accommodation in East Brisbane.

The family spent Christmas in the hospital with Emerara staring out the window hoping to spot Santa.

“It was her first Christmas where she was old enough to realise what Christmas really was but it was really sad,” Ms Kennedy said.

A fundraiser has been created to help the family with the costs of living away from home, equipment, special clothes for Emerara during treatment and medication.

People can donate at GoFundMe.