{"id":494702,"date":"2026-02-21T13:05:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T13:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/494702\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T13:05:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T13:05:12","slug":"gold-coast-toddler-goldie-fighting-rare-cancer-needs-to-access-specialised-care-overseas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/494702\/","title":{"rendered":"Gold Coast toddler Goldie fighting rare cancer needs to access specialised care overseas"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Gold Coast toddler is fighting a cancer so rare she\u2019s one of only a handful of children diagnosed with it in the world, but her family is facing another battle to get the 20-month-old overseas for specialised care she urgently needs.<\/p>\n

Goldie\u2019s journey began when she started losing motor skills and went from almost taking her first steps, to collapsing before not being able to bear weight at all.<\/p>\n

The family repeatedly raised concerns and asked for imaging which was not provided until months later when everything changed.<\/p>\n

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow<\/a><\/p>\n

Goldie, known affectionately as \u201cGolden Bean\u201d, was rushed into hospital when she became critically unwell with scans revealed a large tumour crushing nerves in her spine.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe find out our daughter has cancer and not just the world\u2019s rarest cancer but it\u2019s super aggressive it\u2019s in her spine and pelvis,\u201d mum and former Jillaroo Maddison Bennett told 7NEWS.<\/p>\n

The extra-cranial malignant rhabdoid tumour was diagnosed before the toddler even turned two, with the little girl taken into emergency spinal surgery.<\/p>\n

\"GoldieGoldie was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer. Credit: 7NEWS<\/p>\n

The bright bubbly girl has already endured four rounds of chemotherapy and now urgently needs radiation.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously radiation on a 20-month-old baby is quite intensive and can have lifelong consequences so we\u2019re trying to get her the best treatment which they actually don\u2019t do here in Australia,\u201d Bennett said.<\/p>\n

Because her case is so rare – almost unheard of – Goldie is caught up in health system red tape which is delaying access to life-saving treatment overseas.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like we\u2019ve been let down as a family,\u201d Bennett said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, we\u2019ve got to do it ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GoldieGoldie and mum Maddison Bennett. Credit: 7NEWS<\/p>\n

The family has to do it fast as Goldie needs to have specialised proton therapy in Singapore next month and needs help to get there.<\/p>\n

Proton therapy is a more advanced form of radiation that can stop at the tumour site and reduce radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissue.<\/p>\n

They have started a fundraiser page<\/a> to help with the cost of accessing the treatment, urgent travel, extended accommodation and medical insurance.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe deserves every single chance because she is a fighter,\u201d Bennett said.<\/p>\n

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