Family struggles to access cancer treatment for 11-year-old daughter
Kristy and Dave Costa are working hard to get their 11-year-old daughter the proper treatment she needs while she battles stage 4 melanoma.
“Lacey is a funny, sarcastic girl, has a great sense of humour, loves all animals, and wanted to be a veterinarian as she grows up,” says her dad, Dave.
In December 2021, her parents’ world was turned upside down when doctors informed them that their daughter had stage 3 metastatic melanoma.
Her mother was shocked when doctors told her that Lacey had to get a partial amputation of her left hand due to a cancerous mole.
“It's devastating as a family because it's hard to believe,” her mother told CTV News London on Monday.
While navigating the medical system her parents grew frustrated with the lack of urgency and accessibility being provided to their daughter, including postponed appointments and medical treatments that they are not able to access in Canada.
In April 2022 her pain came back, and scans determined that cancer spread throughout Lacey’s body, including her bones and lungs.
The young girl received immunotherapy treatment but it did not stop the spread, according to her parents.
“Immunotherapy with the targeted therapy would roughly be about $20,000 every three weeks,” her dad adds.
They have tried to get her into clinical trials including one in the U.S., but were not able to because they were told the hospital is at full capacity.
The family is currently trying to get Lacey life-saving treatments, but gaining access to the right medication for her is another challenge.
“There are medications out there that are not available to Canadian children, which is how it was explained to us,” Kristy explains.
Lacey’s mother says they were told that there aren’t currently many options for children with metastatic melanoma, and therefore getting access to the right treatment can take time.
“Her body is not responding the way she would like it to, or the way we would like it to, so we need these possibilities to give her that,” she says.
An avid dancer, Lacey danced at the O'Neill Academy of Dance for eight years.
“She's the most special girl, she makes everyone laugh, she's just the most beautiful, loving girl,” says dance teacher Kim O'Neill.
Feeling the need to help, her teacher started a GoFundMe page.
Their goal is to raise $75,000 to help the Costa family cover medical expenses.
Lacey has recently had to put her love for dance on hold, but that didn't stop her from competing earlier this year.
“Lacey had a partial hand amputation in December and six weeks later was on a competitive dance stage and performed and danced up until the end of May,” her teacher says.
A little girl with a big heart and the will to keep going, Lacey’s parents are still holding onto hope that they will get access to the right treatment for their daughter.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
What a U.S. farmworker’s case of bird flu tells us about tracking the infection
A U.S. farmworker who caught bird flu after working with dairy cattle in Texas appears to be the first known case of mammal-to-human transmission of the virus, a new study shows.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
‘We made them safer and more fun’: Here’s what’s new about e-scooters
Electric scooters (e-scooters) have been gaining popularity in the capital and this season comes with some changes and updates.
Canadian Auger-Aliassime reaches first Masters final in Madrid with another walkover
Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime has advanced to his first ATP Masters final, and he hasn't had to play all that much tennis to do it.