South Hadley girl battling cancer asking for cards for her birthday

SOUTH HADLEY, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - A brave four-year-old battling cancer is hoping to make her upcoming birthday extra special. Rather than traditional presents, she’s asking for something far more meaningful: birthday cards.

In May 2022, Brian and Elena Bliss thought their daughter, Brittney, just had an ear infection. They eventually started seeing changes to her appearance.

“We started noticing some facial abnormalities as far as almost similar to some who had maybe a stroke,” Elena Bliss said.

It turned into a diagnosis that no parent ever wants to hear: cancer. Brittney’s parents told us that, because of her illness, she’s unable to attend day care and be around other kids due to her weakened immune system. Both Elena and Brian have had to take leave from their jobs to be present for their daughter.

“She has developed seizures and things she really can’t be without one of us to help make sure she’s safe,” Elena Bliss added.

Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare malignant soft tissue tumor. This tumor spread to the membranes around Brittney’s brain while undergoing chemo and proton radiation. The disease is rare and it only occurs in one to five percent of all patients with solid tumors. Her parents told us that there is very little treatment for this kind of cancer and that research studies about the disease are almost non-existent.

“The amount of money going towards pediatric cancer is very little,” Brian Bliss said.

“There’s so many kids that go through cancer and you would wish that there’d be more resources for parents,” Elena Bliss explained.

Despite going through tough times, Brittney is about to celebrate her fifth birthday. To help make this year extra special, Brittney and her family are asking for any and all birthday card donations to help put a smile on her face. So far, Brittney has received over 400 birthday cards.

“We’ve been tracking the states that are coming from and we’ve almost got the map filled, right Brittney?...We’ve got some from Ireland and the United Kingdom.”

If you’d like to send Brittney a birthday card or package, it can be sent to:

• Brittney Bliss
• P.O. Box 241
• South Hadley, MA 01075

Brittney’s birthday is on May 27th!

Copyright 2023. Western Mass News (WGGB/WSHM). All rights reserved.