'No family should face financial ruin just because their child is battling cancer': Meet the inspiring mother supporting families affected by the disease

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As she sat in a hospital ward with her sick daughter, Anita Marinelli would have been forgiven for thinking only of her own child's well-being.

It was 2014 and Eliza was barely a year old and had already been hospitalized six times with breathing problems. Her lungs were slow to develop and the simplest cold could quickly turn into pneumonia, as on this occasion.

But as Anita looked around the hushed ward, she started thinking about all the other concerned parents whose children were even more seriously ill than hers. Parents who endured months or even years of constant worry and stress. She wondered how on earth they would make it.

It was a moment of empathy that changed Anita's life and the lives of countless families across the country. Her charity, My Shining Star, was founded in 2016 and now raises £100,000 a year to support children and families affected by cancer. In total she has raised almost £2 million.

“Being in that department for three weeks straight drove me crazy,” says Anita, now 41, who lives in Upchurch, Kent, with husband Rob, 47, a civil engineer, and their daughters Olivia, 13, and Eliza. now 11.

'I was worried not only about Eliza, but also about my eldest daughter Olivia, who was at home without me, and about my husband. He should have taken unpaid leave. He brought me sandwiches with money we could barely afford.

'But then I realized how lucky I was, as the doctors assured us that Eliza would outgrow her breathing problems – and indeed she did. If it was so hard for us, how did families cope when they had a child in the hospital battling cancer? Who paid the bills? Who took care of the other children?'

Two weeks after what would be Eliza's last hospital stay, in July 2014, a friend tearfully revealed that her two-year-old daughter Ruby had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of neuroblastoma cancer that was affecting her stomach and bones.

“The family campaigned to send Ruby to America for drug treatment that is not available here,” says Anita. 'But I knew they would also need a lot of financial and emotional support on a daily basis. I agreed to help.”

Anita threw herself into fundraising with a stream of events, such as fun runs and charity football matches. In ten months she helped raise a staggering £600,000 through a charity, Solving Kids' Cancer, which held the money until Ruby needed it.

'I was so driven that I had to live on a few hours of sleep a night. I was determined that this little girl would not die for lack of money,” Anita says.

Her experience has opened her eyes to the grim reality of families whose children are ill for long periods of time, surrounded by friends and family who want to help, but are often unable to provide the support that is really needed.

“The movie Frozen had just come out and Elsa dolls were changing hands for hundreds of pounds,” says Anita. 'Ruby had ten, all donated by benefactors. Meanwhile, in the middle of their fundraising efforts, the family had bailiffs knocking on their door. They could barely put gas in the car to get to the hospital or put food on the table, and Ruby's big brother needed support from his sibling.”

To everyone's delight, Ruby recovered without treatment abroad as the drugs available on the NHS started to work. At age 11, she is now in remission. The remaining money raised will be used by Solving Kids' Cancer to fund hospital treatment and research for other children in the UK.

Anita's success spurred her to do even more. 'People have good hearts. They just need to know how to help,” she says.

In 2016 she recorded My Shining Star, named after her father Tony, who tragically died of cardiac arrest in January 2014 at the age of 53. 'He died far too young. I like to think of him up there, shining down on us. I hope he's proud of me.'

The charity has helped hundreds of families of children with cancer. “We offer help with everything from paying a fuel bill to buying a refrigerator to store medications, to providing therapy with a trained trauma counselor and support with funeral costs,” says Anita. 'We ask that children are under the age of 18 and that the family is on a low income or has less than £6,000 in savings.'

For the family of three-year-old Orlagh Keane, who like Ruby was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma, My Shining Star's support has had a huge impact. Her parents, Tony and Tracey, first met Anita at Christmas 2019 when she arrived at the Royal Marsden, a specialist cancer hospital in London, with a team of helpers holding huge bags of presents.

“Each child could choose a gift not only for themselves but also for their brothers and sisters,” says Tony, who works in construction but had to give up work when Orlagh was ill. 'Sadly, she passed away in May 2020 at the age of three, so the soft toys she chose for her twin sister Emilia and brothers Isaac and Tom mean a lot to them. Emilia still takes her teddy bear to bed every night. It's a bit Orlagh and gives her enormous comfort.'

Other examples are numerous. There is 16-year-old Fred, who has Down syndrome and is mute. When he was diagnosed with cancer, his family worried that he could not express his fear and confusion, so My Shining Star paid for a play therapist.

The charity has paid £250 each for orthotics for a young girl whose muscles have been severely damaged by her chemo treatment. Last Christmas, 3,577 gifts were delivered to 22 hospitals in Britain.

Although Anita is adamant that she is not a 'wish' charity, she has managed to make the dreams of dozens of dying children come true. Sixteen-year-old Chelsea football fan Clinton was shown a video message from his hero Antonio Rüdiger.

“I don't think any challenge is too big when it comes to a dying child,” she says. 'Some things are worth more than money.'

In 2019, Anita quit her daycare job to run the charity full-time. 'What I experienced with Eliza fundamentally changed me. “I couldn't forget what I had seen,” she says.

'Fortunately, most people will never experience what it is like to have a sick child in hospital and would help parents who are less fortunate if they knew how. I just took advantage of that wonderful generosity and kindness.”

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To make a nomination, complete this form online, or use the form below and send it to us by email or post. Tell us in a maximum of 400 words – on a separate sheet – why your candidate should win.

To enter your nomination online, visit dailymail.co.uk/inspirationalwomen2024; email your entry to: inspirationalwomen@dailymail.co.uk, or send your nomination to: spiring Women Awards, c/o Femail, Daily Mail, 9 Derry St, London W8 5HY.

The closing date for entries is Wednesday February 14, 2024 at 11:59 PM. The editor's decision is final.

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