Schoolgirl, nine, is diagnosed with aggressive cancer after complaining to her parents of a blocked nose

Like most nine-year-old girls, Isabella Potter finds joy in the small, happy moments that make up her childhood: school, art and music.

But just months ago, her young life took a sudden and devastating change, beginning with what appeared to be nothing more than a stuffy nose.

Isabella, a British national living in Hong Kong, initially complained to her parents, Matthew and Claire Potter, that she could not breathe properly due to nasal congestion – an ailment that could not be cured by a course of antibiotics.

The teenager then underwent a series of emergency medical examinations after blood tests confirmed his white blood cell count was 10 times higher than normal, prompting fears of something much worse.

These fears were confirmed by the heartbreaking diagnosis Isabella received: an aggressive form of blood cancer known as Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).

And in the next blow, doctors discovered that he had a rare, aggressive subtype of AML; This complicates and limits treatment options.

This was followed by grueling rounds of chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants in a desperate attempt to control the disease.

Hospitalized for more than seven months, Isabella endured a number of serious complications from the treatments, including anaphylaxis, pancreatitis, viral encephalitis and graft-versus-host disease, a dangerous condition in which the body reacts to transplanted cells.

And despite her strict treatment regimen, Isabella’s family was later informed that her cancer had a high risk of recurrence; This left Mr and Mrs Potter urgently seeking further treatment to ensure his cancer was kept at bay.

Then came another challenge for the family; The most promising treatment available to Isabella is a drug currently only accessible in the United States.

This medication, known as Revuforj, offers the best chance of recovery when taken for two years. But importing into Hong Kong costs around £20,000 a month, which doesn’t come cheap.

Faced with these challenging circumstances, Mr. and Mrs. Potter now Raise £500,000 needed for medication via GoFundMe to give their daughter the best possible chance of long-term recovery.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Mr Potter, an architect, and Ms Potter, who works in offshore law, explained how a simple nasal congestion turned Isabella’s world upside down and emphasized the urgent need for treatment that would change their daughter’s life.

Ms Potter said: ‘For people with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, and especially those like Isabella who have genetic mutations that make the disease difficult to treat, there is a new type of medicine called a menin inhibitor.

‘The one we are looking at is called Revumenib; It works by stopping the infusion of a certain protein into leukemic cells and killing them.

‘It has recently received FDA approval in the US and clinical trials are currently being conducted on it worldwide.

‘However, Isabella is not suitable for these clinical trials; It is limited to cases of relapse or patients with refractory AML, i.e. those who fail to achieve remission after initial treatment.’

Mr Potter added that no hospitals in Hong Kong, where the family has lived since 2015, were currently conducting trials for the drug.

However, he said that doctors at the Hong Kong Children’s Hospital, where Isabella was treated, recommended the drug to the family due to its high success rate.

He said: ‘Isabella’s doctors said Revumenib had an incredible reputation but they had to import it, which required a variety of other procedures.

‘They also said it was too expensive, so we said, ‘Okay, how much?’

‘They said about 14,000 Hong Kong dollars a day; This equates to around a thousand pounds.’

Revumenib, sold under the brand name Revuforj, is an oral medication used to treat acute leukemia by slowing the growth of cancer cells in adults and children.

It was approved in the US after clinical trials showing successful remission rates in leukemic patients; but it is not yet ready for worldwide use.

Therefore, taking Revuforj to Isabella will come at a heavy price for her family. At a cost of over £1,300 a day, one month’s worth of the drug comes to a staggering £20,770.

Because patients with Isabella’s condition had a reduced risk of recurrence after two years, her doctors recommended she take the drug for at least 24 months; this brought the total cost down to just under £500,000.

Isabella’s family has since GoFundMe page will raise £500,000 needed for treatment.

They have raised just over £50,000 so far; This is enough to cover two months.

But her determined parents are fighting fundraising efforts to give their daughter a real chance at long-term recovery.

Mr Potter said: ‘The drug is a real step forward in treating this form of leukemia.

‘We’ve read everything we can about it and everything we’ve heard is that it’s really, really effective.

‘There is real excitement and interest in the treatment and I think that’s why his doctors were so determined to get him to Hong Kong.

‘This is new and definitely has very good initial results.’

Ms Potter added: ‘This is definitely something we need to do to give Isabella the best chance of a long-term recovery.’

Isabella was diagnosed with blood cancer in August 2025 after her parents brought her to the GP complaining of nasal congestion.

Miss Potter said Isabella was having difficulty breathing and was constantly short of breath. His mother said that even after antibiotics were prescribed, he would get better temporarily, but the congestion would return.

Blood tests were taken to investigate what was happening and within hours the family’s worst fears were confirmed.

Miss Potter said: ‘Blood testing revealed Isabella’s white blood cell count was more than ten times the normal level; The doctor agreed that it was at a critical level.

He then transferred Isabella urgently to the Hong Kong Children’s Hospital, where she was admitted the same night.

‘Isabella was admitted to hospital on the evening of 20 August 2025 and the diagnosis of leukemia was confirmed the following day (her father’s 50th birthday).’

Immediately after Isabella was diagnosed, she began a series of treatments, including chemotherapy.

But it was soon discovered that a particular variant of the disease had genetic features so rare that treatment options were significantly more complex.

Ms Potter said: ‘The nature of Isabella’s leukemia is extremely rare.

‘Doctors explained to us that Isabella was a very complex case and that they did not have a fully tailored protocol for treatment.’

Doctors recommended Isabella a bone marrow transplant along with chemotherapy as the best option to control the disease; However, the transplant was not without risks.

Ms Potter said: ‘We have been told that a bone marrow transplant has a better outcome in terms of reducing the risk of relapse, but the process itself is very invasive and can lead to a number of complications.

‘We were able to speak to medical professionals in the United States and they said very clearly, unequivocally, that if Isabella was living in the US there would be no hesitation for her to proceed through a bone marrow transplant.

‘Therefore, we decided to go for transplant despite the risks.’

The bone marrow transplant was performed on January 15 this year, following three rounds of chemotherapy.

However, Isabella suffered serious side effects from the procedure, resulting in a long stay in hospital until Easter.

Mr Potter said: ‘What we find particularly difficult after transplant is that you think you’ve turned a corner and suddenly there’s a problem waiting around the corner that you weren’t aware of.

‘We were very nervous about the transplant but it seemed to work and Isabella started to feel a little better. And it went pretty downhill from there.’

Following the transplant, Isabella developed graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a complication in which the donor’s immune cells attack the patient’s body, usually affecting the skin, intestines, and liver.

Mr Potter said the condition first came to light when Isabella complained of itchy feet and an uncomfortable burning sensation on her face.

He said: ‘GVHD affected her chest as well as her face and appeared to gradually progress down her body.

‘The last thing that turned red was his legs.’

Ms. Potter also explained that after the transplant, the body can produce infections internally, leaving Isabella vulnerable to further complications.

He said: ‘Then in addition to this there is the risk of viral and bacterial infection.

‘Such infections can come from within the body; There doesn’t necessarily need to be an external source there.

‘Bacteria that are present in a healthy person’s system and do not affect them can be very bad for a person who does not have an immune system.

‘I could tell from the very beginning that Isabella was dealing with the side effects of her treatment, and then with GVHD and the complications and infections that resulted from that.’

However, despite the challenges of her rare cancer, Mr and Mrs Potter said Isabella continued to show extraordinary strength and positivity and was eventually well enough to be discharged from hospital on April 3.

Ms Potter said: ‘It’s going great at the moment.

‘He still has the Hickman streak and will keep it for another two or three months, but it’s great compared to how he feels.

‘He continues to make regular hospital visits for tests and procedures but now sleeps at home in his own bed!’

Outside of her cancer treatment, Isabella has a variety of interests that she continues to develop.

Miss Potter said: ‘One of the hardest things for Isabella throughout this whole process is missing school and her friends; He loves school and science.

‘She is incredibly artistic and loves everything to do with the natural world; snakes, reptiles and birds.

‘He’s a very good singer and loves to make things. She’s very creative and loves doing crafts.’