A girl is hoping to get the all-clear after battling terminal cancer.

Defied all expectations - Amanda Stevens, 12, waits for the results of a test in two weeks. Picture: SEANA HUGHES 40583-f

Twelve-year-old Amanda Stevens, of Main Road, Great Leighs, was never expected to reach her third birthday. Aged two she was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma, an aggressive cancer, starting in the nervous tissue, which children hardly ever survive.

When doctors first found malignant tumours in Amanda's body in 1994, parents Dean, 46, and Beryl, 55, were told to prepare for the worst.

Amanda immediately received chemotherapy, but when her tumours did not shrink, doctors said nothing more could be done. Now, the tumour tissue in her chest has reverted to a hard, dense lump which is largely benign.

Recent tests showed up two small spots which doctors scanned and are currently analysing but her family is hoping she will get the all-clear.

Amanda, who attends Chelmer Valley High School, Chelmsford, will receive those results in the next few weeks.

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Published Monday, February 7, 2005

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