A six-year-old girl has been given just weeks to live after doctors believed a lump on her arm was nothing more than a sprain. A scan has revealed a heartbreaking diagnosis that confirmed Bonnie-Leigh Spence has roughly eight weeks to live.

Bonnie-Leigh, whose family live in Consett, County Durham, first noticed a lump on her arm, which was accompanied by a sharp pain, in December 2024. Despite doctors initially believing it was just a sprain, a scan during her second visit to hospital revealed that Bonnie had Rhabdoid Sarcoma. The rare and highly aggressive childhood cancer is often diagnosed in infants under a year old and develops in the kidneys, brain or soft tissues. It currently has a poor prognosis and requires intense treatment.

As reported by GB News, her stepmother Caroline Spence said doctors expect the disease to peak around mid-March. The 32-year-old explained: “The cancer has doubled again in six weeks.”

Bonnie-Leigh underwent a full-body MRI at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle. It revealed that the disease had started to spread to her lungs where it began cutting off nerves and leaving toxins in her kidneys.

Caroline said: “They had to amputate her arm above her elbow, and after that, she had chemo for 28 weeks. She had it every two weeks; it was an intense 28 weeks. Around June time, she had two weeks of radiotherapy to try and shrink the tumours in the lungs. They were huge.”

However, despite the treatment, Bonnie-Leigh was told that the tumours were “building up momentum again”. The family are now raising funds to give Bonnie-Leigh as many amazing experiences as possible.

Caroline said: “The doctors have said she’s had the maximum dosage of chemotherapy, so now we’re waiting for the tumours in her body essentially. They’re just waiting for it to hit its momentum, they’ve said it would be about mid-March. It would be days after it peaks that we could lose.”

The family have set up a GoFundMe page which has already paid for a visit to Disneyland as well as a walk out with the Newcastle United captain before a match. Caroline said the family have “had to fit a lifetime worth of memories into a year”.

The GoFundMe appeal states: “The money you donate will ultimately give Bonnie the best memories and moments with her family for whatever time she has remaining. Bonnie does not yet fully understand her circumstances, so to give her those memories of being surrounded by those who love her so dearly and unconditionally to us is invaluable.”