You Won't Believe What This 9-Year-Old Wants For Her Birthday (It's Amazing)

She's kicked cancer's butt three times, and now she's kicking it again by raising $9,000 (just kidding, let's go for $10,000) for cancer research.

Via youcaring.com

Her story is one of inspiration, strength and hope. At 9 years old and a three-time cancer survivor, Emily Whitehead beat all odds, and after a long journey, has been in remission since May 2012. Now, she's making it her goal to help kids like her beat cancer.

When Emily was diagnosed with standard risk pre-b acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) at 5 years old in May 2010, doctors said she had an 85%-90% chance of being cured. She started chemotherapy treatment, but her chances of survival dropped to 30% when she relapsed in October 2011, and again in February 2012.

Her doctors concluded chemotherapy was no longer going to get Emily back into remission, so she enrolled in a phase 1 clinical trial at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in April 2012. The idea was T-cell therapy— remove the white blood cells from her body and genetically reprogram them with a modified HIV virus that, when put back into her body, were trained to fight the cancer cells.

Emily was the first pediatric patient in the world to undergo the trial. It was a highly experimental trial with no guaranteed outcome, but she wasn't about to give up without a fight.

For days after the operation, Emily became severely ill and had to be put on a ventilator. Her doctors feared she wouldn't make it through another night, but they worked endlessly to come up with a solution. They soon discovered that administering a rheumatoid arthritis drug would return her immune system levels back to normal and, hopefully, restore the rest of her body back to health.

A true miracle, Emily's symptoms reduced drastically overnight with the arthritis drug and three weeks after her T-cell therapy, she entered remission just in time for her 7th birthday. The T-cells are still working in her body to prevent any new cancer cells from forming and have allowed her to return to a normal, healthy life.

Via Facebook: emilybrookewhitehead

Emily celebrating 2-years cancer-free this past May

This past May, Emily celebrated her 9th birthday. When her parents asked what she wanted, she told them she wanted to raise $9,000 for being 9 years old to support cancer research. But, why stop there? "Let's just make it $10,000… one to grow on!" Emily decided. She hopes to reach her goal by this September, which is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

Quite the ambitious goal at 9 years old, but that's exactly who Emily is. For a girl who fearlessly looked cancer in the eye not once, but three times, anything is possible. Now, you can help her reach her goal by donating to her fundraiser,

www.youcaring.com/9k9years

To read more about Emily Whitehead, her full story is available on her website,

www.emilywhitehead.com

The Cancer Research Institute / Via youtube.com