A Workington family are facing a heartbreaking decision to allow their daughter to develop cancer for the fourth time in the latest bid for her survival.

Her family have issued a desperate plea to the community to help Emily in her battle.

Emily Shutt, six, was diagnosed with leukaemia when she was two. She has undergone several treatments and operations, including nine lots of radiotherapy and bone marrow transplants.

Her family now face an agonising decision to help secure her place in a medical trial at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital.

She now needs to have the cancer visible in her system to qualify.

It means she must stop her treatment and is likely to relapse in the next six to 12 months.

The family say the trial is Emily’s only hope and are appealing for donations to help them.

  • Read Emily's story in tomorrow's Times & Star