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As some of you will know AGC owner Rachael Clunie's events & production company, Le Cabaret Avant Garde, spent 4 years putting cabaret & cirque shows on to raise money and awareness for a special little girl called Jess Shepherd who had Neuroblastoma. Tragically, Jess lost her battle and went to fly with the angels in 2018. Sadly, there too many little ones fighting childhood cancers.
There is another very special little girl called Chloe Balloqui, who Rachael met, along with her lovely family, when she met Jess and her family at a charity ball at London's Natural History Museum in 2015. Chloe, who is 10, was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer that attacks the nervous system, at the age of 2 years and 8 months. After visits to the GP and A & E a CAT scan was carried out and a large tumour was found in her abdomen. After being transferred to Great Ormond St children’s hospital for more tests and diagnosis Chloe was diagnosed with stage 4 Metastatic Neuroblastoma, which meant the cancer had spread to her bone marrow. She has spent many years having treatment including chemotherapy, stem cell transplant and radiotherapy at the wonderful Great Ormond St and in March 2016 Chloe was classed as in 2nd full remission.
At the end of May 2016 Chloe and her family travelled to New York’s MSKCC to take part in the Bivalent Vaccine Trial where Chloe would spend a year having the treatment . Chloe’s 7th and final vaccine took place on 30th May 2017. Chloe’s scans and bone marrow during, and for 12 months after treatment, were clear.
Tragically in February 2020, after her routine ultrasounds, bloods and urines were clear, Chloe started to suffer with a headache on the left hand side of her head and all the worrying signs of lethargy, no appetite and pale complexion reappeared.
Devastatingly Chloe has developed a malignant tumour behind her one of her eyes and whilst the doctor’s at GOSH are doing everything the can, sadly UK medicine can only give her palliative care.
Recent scan results have shown that Chloe’s tumour has grown by 15-20%. This means Chloe will no longer continue on the current chemotherapy treatment she is on. This is a huge setback.
The family, having done much research, to give Chloe the chance of a third remission and have found a Dr in Barcelona and an antibody/ chemotherapy combination treatment, which may be her best option. This treatment comes at a costly price and for 8 cycles of treatment the family are looking at a cost of £273,000.
A COLLECTION FOR CHLOE
Those of you who know Rachael, know that when it comes to children she just can not sit back and do nothing and once again she is compelled to do what she can to help this little girl and her lovely family, Karen & Rich, and her brother James. As Rachael is not currently able to put on her shows at present she going design a special couture hat collection just for Chloe: ‘Collection Chloe’. Monies raised from this special collection will be given towards getting Chloe to Barcelona.
TICKETS
Details of the 4 piece collection, which will be sold on a raffle ticket based system, will follow soon and tickets will be available to purchase through the AGC webs shop. Each ticket will cost just £5 with the aim is to raise as much money as possible for Chloe and Rachael is hoping that everyone will help her mission.
So if you would like to own one of Rachael’s beautiful one off designs and would like to help her support this dear little girl then be sure to purchase your ticket (or tickets) when they are launched!
In the meantime you can learn more about Chloe's journey here.
You can also watch Chloe’s first year of treatment in 2015 in True Visions documentary on childhood cancer, Raining In My Heart which was televised on ITV here:
We hope you will help us in supporting Chloe.
Team Avant Garde Couture x