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SHAH ALAM – Influencer and cookbook author Nara Smith has revealed that her two-year-old daughter, Whimsy Lou, has been diagnosed with cancer.
In a video posted on her Instagram, Nara explained that the diagnosis came late last year, after she and her husband, Lucky Blue Smith, noticed "something suspicious" on their daughter and rushed her to the emergency room (ER).
"When we saw something suspicious on her, we took her to the ER and they didn't quite know what to make of it," she said.
Smith said her concerns deepened after they visited their paediatrician.
"When we took her to our paediatrician, I just remember him going really quiet and calm and my heart dropped at that moment.
"I don't know whether it was my gut telling me something or just a mom's intuition, but the first thing that I felt was she has cancer," she said.
The paediatrician advised the family to bring Whimsy to the nearest children's hospital for further evaluation.
She said after undergoing several X-rays, ultrasounds and a biopsy, doctors confirmed the diagnosis.
"They immediately called us and said that she had cancer, told us it had spread and that she needs to come and start chemo treatments immediately," she said.
Nara however did not disclose the type of cancer her daughter has been diagnosed with.
She said connecting with other families going through similar experiences had helped her cope during the difficult period.
"Throughout all of this, I've been on a plethora of forums, social media, also talked to parents and family in the hospital and all of that combined really brought me a lot of comfort and alleviated the feeling of loneliness for me," she said.
The 24-year-old model also explained that balancing her daughter's treatment with caring for her other children, work commitments and life as a new mother had been emotionally and physically challenging.
"Processing this and navigating all of this as a family has been really hard.
"Having found all of this out and navigating this while postpartum, also loving and caring for our other kids at home, also being in the hospital with Whimsy a lot and balancing work on top of that has been really challenging and finding that balance is something that I struggle with on a daily basis.
"Some days are a little easier, some days are really hard and all I can do is try my best and show up in all those areas in the best way that I can," she said.
Nara said she decided to speak publicly about her family's journey in the hope that it would encourage others to seek medical attention if they noticed anything unusual and provide comfort to families facing similar circumstances.
"I hope that by sharing this, I can bring someone else a little bit of comfort and make you feel less alone in your journey in whatever way that may be," she said.
Nara and Lucky share four children together: Whimsy, Rumble Honey, Slim Easy and Fawnie Golden. Lucky also has an older daughter, Gravity, from a previous relationship.
