The family of a little girl with strong Galway connections have launched a fundraising campaign to bring her to the US for potentially life-changing treatment for an aggressive form of cancer. Little Zoe Mills, who will soon turn two, has been battling neuroblastoma for the past year.
Zoe was diagnosed in August 2023, when she became unwell and underwent tests which revealed that not only had she a tumour attached to her kidney which took up 50 per cent of the space in her abdomen, but the cancer had also spread throughout her tiny body. She has been undergoing treatment ever since.
Zoe is the daughter of David and Emma Mills. While the family live in Swords in Co Dublin, David Mills has strong Galway connections. His father Tony, who passed away last November, was a native of Tuam, while his mother Kathleen (formerly Spellman ) was from Clostoken near Loughrea.
The senior Mills had returned west and were living in Claregalway in recent years after Tony Mills retired from his career as a salesman in Arnotts in Dublin, but returned to the capital after both Tony and Zoe became ill. Both the Mills and Spellman families are well known in GAA circles in Galway, and have long been supporters of Gaelic games here.
Little Zoe is currently undergoing an intensive 18-month treatment plan for stage four high-risk neuroblastoma. She has already undergone abdominal surgery to remove as much of the main tumour as possible, and has also undergone additional high dose chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant requiring six weeks of isolation in a dedicated transplant unit, along with 14 sessions of radiotherapy, each one carried out under general anaesthetic, and countless blood transfusions, injections and medical procedures.
Zoe is currently undergoing the immunotherapy phase of her treatment, comprising five cycles over six months, with the first two cycles requiring a morphine pump to manage her pain. Immunotherapy will hopefully be the final stage of Zoe’s frontline treatment.
David and Emma Mills are committed to doing all they can to give Zoe the best chance of a long and healthy life. They are aware that the outlook for neuroblastoma can be bleak, with a very high relapse rate, and limited treatment options if relapse occurs. This makes the longer-term survival statistics unthinkable.
On the anniversary of Zoe’s devastating diagnosis, David and Emma, together with family and friends, launched a fundraising campaign called “Hope for Zoe” to try to raise €350,000 to access a clinical trial in the USA.
Today, Zoe is doing her best to stand up and take a few steps, say a few words, and even sing along to her favourite movie, Frozen. She is getting used to her hearing aids, which were necessary after the hearing loss caused by chemo, and communicating better every day. A feeding tube is still required for her nutrition and daily medication. She is full of personality and fun, and extremely determined.
The Mills and Spellman families are appealing to people of Galway to join and support baby Zoe by contributing to the fund set up. Donations can be made directly through www.gofundme.com/f/ng2xb-hope-for-zoe
