Cardigan girl Nora Seeary, 4, takes on tumours in her kidneys and lungs

A tennis-ball-sized lump near a young Ballarat girl’s hip led to a “living nightmare” for two local parents.

Nora Louise, 4, was diagnosed with kidney and lung cancer on January 23, 2024. Photo: GoFundMe

A four-year-old Ballarat girl is bravely taking on a rare type of kidney cancer.

Nora Seeary, from Cardigan, had stomach pains in November 2023 and her parents Dana and Nick were told a high fibre diet would do the trick.

But in January this year Dana felt a tennis-ball-sized lump near Nora’s hip and when Nora’s kindergarten called about a distended abdomen, she knew something wasn’t right.

An ultrasound confirmed the worst: Nora probably had cancer.

Cardigan parents Nick and Dana Seeary with kids Axel and Nora.

After a transfer to the Royal Children’s Hospital and more tests, Nora learnt she had kidney cancer — likely what is called a Wilms tumour — as well as four small tumours in her lungs.

“As a mother that’s not something that you want to think about for any of your kids, or any kid on the planet,” Dana said.

“You never want to think about any kid having cancer.

“... It’s a living nightmare.

“We wake up every day going, ‘Please just let this be a nightmare and we wake up and can resume normal life’.”

Nora is now halfway through six weeks of intense chemotherapy, to be followed by surgery to remove the 17cm mass from her kidney.

Nora Seeary, 4.

Nora is halfway through six weeks of chemotherapy.

After her sessions, Nora can be a little deflated but bounces back the next day, her mum said.

“She was just a regular kid that Monday afternoon blowing bubbles in the backyard with the dogs,” Dana said.

“Now the hospital’s like her second home.

“All we want is a normal life for her.”

An online fundraiser for the Seearys has raised more than $41,000 so far, with Dana and Nick doing their best to remain by Nora’s side while spending time with her brother Axel.

“This little girl is such an inspiration and is staying as highly spirited as possible,” Dana wrote.

“We are taking in all the moments of Nora being Nora, as we don’t know what these coming weeks hold and if she is going to be so exhausted that we lose a bit of her.”