What began as a simple stomach ache turned into every parent’s worst nightmare for Enya Gooding. At just 23 years old, the young mother never imagined that a routine visit to the GP would lead to a diagnosis that would change her family’s life forever. Her four-year-old daughter, Cayla Jones, was told she had stage four cancer — a word that instantly shattered the world Enya was trying to hold together.
It was June when Cayla first complained of pain in her tummy. Night after night, she said it hurt, but like many parents, Enya wondered if it was something minor. At one point, she even questioned whether Cayla was pretending, hoping to stay up a little later. Still, something didn’t feel right, and Enya booked an appointment with their GP.
The doctor reassured her. It was likely a urine infection, they said. Cayla was given antibiotics and sent home. Enya wanted to believe it was that simple. But when the medication made no difference and her little girl still looked unwell, fear began to creep in.
On July 2, Enya returned to the surgery, this time seeing a different doctor. Cayla had recently experienced big changes — a new baby brother had arrived earlier in the year, and she was preparing to start “big school” in September. Enya worried stress might be the cause. The doctor decided to examine Cayla more thoroughly, and when he pressed on her stomach, everything changed.
He paused. Then he called in another doctor.
Words like “hernia” and “appendix” were mentioned, and for a moment Enya remained calm. But then she noticed their faces. The shift in their expressions told her more than words ever could. Something was very wrong.
Cayla was given a letter to take straight to A&E, bypassing the waiting room. That same day, she was admitted to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, where blood tests, urine tests, and an ultrasound followed. When Enya and her partner Brad were called into a private room to speak with an oncologist, Enya’s heart sank.
“They told us they’d found a tumour,” she later said. “Brad and I just broke down. I couldn’t even ask questions. I just tried to hold it together so Cayla wouldn’t be scared.”
Days later, the family was transferred to Bristol Children’s Hospital. Further scans revealed the full extent of the nightmare. Cayla was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma, a rare and aggressive cancer that mostly affects very young children. The disease had spread from her stomach, up to her diaphragm, and into the lymph nodes in her neck.
The diagnosis was devastating. Yet, amid the horror, there was one small mercy: the cancer had not reached her bones, which meant treatment could begin immediately.
On July 19, Cayla started chemotherapy. In just 70 days, she endured eight intense rounds. The treatment was brutal, draining her tiny body and weakening her immune system until her white blood cell count flat-lined. She spent weeks in isolation, too vulnerable to fight even the smallest infection.
Still, she fought.
By the fourth round of chemotherapy, the tumours in her neck had vanished. By the end of treatment, two-thirds of the main tumour in her stomach had disappeared. Doctors were encouraged, but the battle was far from over.
After chemotherapy came surgery. For eight hours, surgeons worked to remove as much of the remaining tumour as possible. When Enya finally saw her daughter, Cayla was crying — not from the surgery, but because she wanted the probe taken off her toe. In that moment, Enya smiled through tears. Her little girl had just survived major surgery, yet it was the smallest discomfort that bothered her most.
Eighty percent of the tumour was removed. Then came stem cell harvesting, followed by high-dose BuMel chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Each stage was another mountain to climb, another test of endurance for a child who should have been worrying about toys and bedtime stories, not hospitals and needles.
Cayla was discharged just before Christmas, her appetite returning, her smile slowly finding its way back. But the fear hasn’t left. The chance of relapse in the first six months is frighteningly high.
Now, Enya and Brad are fundraising to send Cayla to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, where a vaccine treatment significantly reduces the risk of the cancer returning. The cost is enormous — £200,000 — but with the help of the Bradley Lowery Foundation and thousands of supporters, they are fighting just as hard as their daughter.
“When I first googled the diagnosis, I was terrified,” Enya admits. “But then I found hope.”
Cayla Jones’ story is not just about cancer. It is about a mother’s instinct that refused to be silenced, about a little girl with unimaginable bravery, and about the fragile line between “it’s nothing” and everything changing forever.
