Cancer fighter Leah Xuereb and her mother Zhana are in Lourdes and their baggage includes a good dose of hope.

The two left on the five-day trip funded by the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and Malta yesterday.

“I have been looking forward to this trip for a year. It was impossible to go last year because of the type of treatment that Leah was receiving.But now, God willing, we are going with other children at the Rainbow Ward to pray for our health,” Ms Xuereb, 35, told Times of Malta.

In October 2012, Leah’s parents made a plea through Times of Malta to fund a €245,000 life-saving treatment for a rare form of cancer in a specialised US hospital. Leah and her family returned to Malta for Christmas but last year they were told the girl had to return to Mater Dei for chemotherapy.

However, Leah soldiered on and regained some normality, playing, riding her bicycle, going to the playground and making friends. As she cannot go to school regularly, a teacher goes to her house every week.

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