The parents of a young girl left devastated when her cancer returned in the summer say they are “hopeful” ahead of her latest end-of-treatment scan.

A scan last July revealed that brave Maya Nash’s, from Hythe, neuroblastoma was back, leaving the 10-year-old’s mum fearing she would not make it to Christmas.

The rare cancer can be more difficult to control if it returns and Maya’s loved ones were preparing for the worst.

But nine months later, Maya is now in the process of her 12th and final cycle of chemotherapy.

If she gets clearance, it means she’s got a fighting chance of being able to take part in a clinical trial which could help prevent the cancer from returning.

Mum Dellanie Nash, a nurse, 48, told KentOnline she thought the family would be preparing for Maya’s funeral in December but her daughter has battled through her most recent setback.

“She is having an end-of-treatment scan on April 17 and we are discussing the results a couple of days later,” she explained.

“If the results are all clear, on April 26 we will be having discussions about an anti-relapse clinical trial.

“If you asked me last summer I was thinking we would be having her funeral in December. We did not imagine she would go this far!”

At just three years old, Maya was diagnosed with stage four high-risk neuroblastoma, which develops in early nerve cells and often starts in the abdomen. She subsequently received frontline treatment in a trial on the NHS.

Between 2019 and 2020, after raising £89,000, the tot and her family travelled to New York for a clinical trial at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

They hoped the treatment would stop the disease from returning.

After that, there was no evidence of active disease, meaning cancer was not detected.

However, a scan last summer, just two weeks after Maya’s 10th birthday, revealed the disease had spread throughout her body.

Mrs Nash, who shares four children aged between 27 and 10 with husband Terry, says Maya has been responding well to the treatment and now gives her a chance to join the trial.

She added: “We are really positive in the sense she has not been in any pain. She has no symptoms of the cancer at the moment.

“We are very much hoping that it will be good news.

“She is such a strong little girl and we have survived this together as a family.”

If the scans come back all clear, then Maya will be classed as having no evidence of active disease.

The anti-relapse clinical trial would then take place and last for about eight months.

This would see Maya put on an immunotherapy trial at Southampton Children’s Hospital for a new treatment which could help prevent her from relapsing and the cancer coming back like last summer.

She would only be in remission once she has been out of treatment for two years.

Despite the family remaining positive about the results, Mrs Nash admits if the scans next week do not come back clear, they will not put Maya through the treatment again.

She added: “We might be in a situation where we look into palliative chemotherapy. That makes my body numb to even say this.

“It would only be to prolong her life so we can make as many memories as possible.”

The family set up a GoFundMe page last July so they “don’t have to worry about finances while Maya gets her treatment”.

So far they have raised more than £25,000.

Poppy Middleton, who runs the Hawkinge ladies walking group, has arranged a sponsored walk for Maya.

The event is being held at Reinden Woods, Hawkinge on Sunday, April 28 between 12pm-2pm.

Olympic legend, Dame Kelly Holmes sent a message of support and urged people to join the walk.