Four-year-old Nicole Balzan’s success story will be one of the main features on this evening’s TVM programme Xarabank, which will be collecting funds for Puttinu Cares.

Young Nicole when she was battling cancer.

Nicole was found to have a kidney tumour when she was two and has since undergone an operation to have one of her kidneys removed.

Her care was made possible with the help of public donations to the Puttinu Cares Foundation.

After featuring on last year’s Good Friday Xarabank as a sick child, she will be returning to the programme today as a happy and cured four-year-old.

“Last year I cried on the programme because of what my daughter was going through. Today, I will cry with joy as my daughter is now cured,” Nicole’s mother Lorraine said.

Lorraine will be spending answering donation calls throughout tonight’s programme to enable Puttinu Cares to help more children.

Set up in 2002 to offer support to children suffering from cancer and their families, the organisation is now also supporting adult cancer patients.

It has also bought a number of flats in London which are used by the families who have to travel for care to the UK, founder  Rennie Zerafa said.

This evening’s first donation will be made by Zhana, bubbly Leah’s mother, the six-year-old girl who stole the nation’s heart and lost her battle to cancer only a few days ago. More than €3,500 were raised during a collection in aid of Puttinu Cares during her funeral.

Angele Cuschieri, from Puttinu Cares said, that the team was saddened whenever a child was lost but it continued working because many more people needed help.

Programme producer Russell Sammut appealed to people to donate. He said that for the first time tonight, companies, businesses and people who could donate more could call wiht a €200 pledge and buy part of a flat in London which the organisation needs to buy urgently.

People who pledge on 2124 9200 during the programme will be able to watch a graphic of the flat being built as the donations pour in.

Puttinu Cares president Victor Calvania said the good news was that 80 per cent of children who have cancer are completely cured.