Shave for Xave

20/10/2026

❤️🎄 Could this be the Christmas miracle our Xave needs? 🎄❤️

I came across Samuel Weidenhofer post about wanting to make Christmas miracles happen for Australian families, and I couldn't help but think how incredible it would be if he picked up Xave's story. 🥹

Sometimes I feel like because Xave has been fighting cancer for so many years, his story has become old news. That people have heard it all before, and perhaps it doesn't have the same impact anymore.

But the reality is, our story hasn't ended. We are still living it, every single day. 💔

Our beautiful boy is now 9 years old and has been fighting stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma since he was just 3.

We've faced four relapses, countless treatments and more heartbreak than I can put into words.

We have been incredibly fortunate to receive so much support over the years, and without that generosity, we wouldn't have made it this far.

But the reality is, that money only goes so far, especially when you're fighting for your child's life on the other side of the world.

And we are worried. Really worried.

We did it.

We packed up our lives, travelled to America and put everything we had into giving Xave another chance.

We keep getting knocked down with devastating news, but somehow we pick ourselves up, wipe away the tears and keep fighting.

Because what other choice do we have? We refuse to give up on our boy. ❤️

We will more than likely still be here in America for Christmas, and more than anything, we just want to be together as a family.

After spending so much time apart, that alone would mean the world to us.

But imagine being able to spend Christmas together without the constant financial worry hanging over our heads.

Without wondering how we will afford the next few months of rent, living expenses and everything that comes with being so far from home.

If Samuel chose to share Xave's story, the awareness and support it could bring would mean more to our family than words could ever explain.

Not because we expect anything, but because we are still here, still fighting, and we still desperately need help.

Xave's battle might not be new, but it is just as real, just as frightening and just as important as it was the day he was diagnosed.

If you have followed our journey, cried with us, celebrated our wins and picked us up through our losses, could I ask one more thing?

Please nominate Xave for Samuel's Christmas miracle. 🥹❤️

🎄 https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1413467024284202&id=100068627531034

Even sharing this post might help get his story in front of the right person.

We don't know what tomorrow holds, but we know we will never stop fighting for our boy.

Five years into this battle, we still need our miracle. ❤️🎄

16/10/2026

💛 XAVE UPDATE – ANOTHER BUMP IN THE ROAD 💛

I've been putting off writing this update as we're still trying to process everything that's happened.

Just a few weeks ago, we were celebrating Xave's incredible response to his molecular guided treatment (MGT). Unfortunately, things have taken an unexpected turn. 💔

Xave's latest MIBG scan showed a significant jump in his Curie score, with widespread disease throughout his bones. Bone marrow biopsies also confirmed neuroblastoma in both sides of his marrow.

For those who have followed our journey, this is very different from his previous relapses, where the disease has always been small and isolated.

One positive we're holding onto is that although the disease is widespread, the uptake on his scans is faint. Dr Sholler believes much of what we're seeing is disease throughout his marrow rather than large, bulky tumours. We're hopeful we can get it responding quickly!

Dr Sholler has moved fast, and Xave has now completed his first cycle of aggressive chemotherapy combined immunotherapy.

Xave has always responded incredibly well to chemotherapy and immunotherapy, and we're praying he does it again! 🙏

Our plans for his personalised PEACH vaccine and T-cell therapy haven't changed. We just need to get this disease back under control first.

Another heartbreaking part is knowing our stay in America will now be even longer. Being separated from Andrew and Izzy has already been incredibly hard, and the thought of more months apart is devastating. We miss our family and home so much. 💔

The emotional and financial strain continues to grow, but we'll keep doing whatever it takes to give our boy the best chance.

We're now waiting for his next tumour markers and scans, hoping this new treatment is working.

We still have options, we still have a plan, and most importantly, we still have HOPE! 💛

Thank you to everyone who continues to support us, fundraise, donate and share Xave's story. It truly means the world, especially being so far from home.

This is another setback, but we've seen Xave beat the odds before, and we're holding onto every bit of hope that he can do it again! 💛🎗️

28/09/2026

💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛 30 faces for September childhood cancer awareness month!

Thanks to Neuroblastoma Australia for always raising awareness and fighting for better treatments and cures 😘

22/09/2026

Thanks Neuroblastoma Australia for sharing Xavier for the 30 faces of September for childhood cancer awareness month!!
It’s super important we share these stories to raise awareness 😍

🎗XAVIER 🎗

This September, we're sharing to raise awareness of childhood cancer - specifically .

"Xavier (Xave) was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at 3½ years old and has bravely battled through four relapses, inspiring everyone around him with his determination and spirit.

I want people to know that advances like liquid biopsies and precision medicine are transforming the future of neuroblastoma treatment, helping doctors make more personalised and targeted decisions for every child."

📖 Every face has a story. Every story deserves to be heard.

💬 Share Xavier's story and help us make neuroblastoma more visible this Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

🤝Together we can make neuroblastoma impossible to ignore.
🎗

20/09/2026

💛💛💛💛

19/09/2026

“So when are you coming home?”

And believe me, if getting that result meant we could pack our bags and jump on a plane back to Australia, we would probably already be on it. 💛

But unfortunately, that is far from where we are at.
As incredible as this news is and we will NEVER take a result like this for granted!

Xave is responding to his precision medicine protocol, which includes chemotherapy and targeted inhibitors, and we still have a lot left to do here.

So what happens next?

Xave started Cycle 3 of MGT (Molecular Guided Therapy) on Thursday, and this cycle has already been rough.

Yesterday was my birthday and the poor kid kept apologising to me because he felt so sick that we couldn’t do anything. 💔

Obviously he had absolutely nothing to apologise for, but that’s Xave even when he feels horrible, he is worried about everyone else.

For now, Xave will remain on MGT while we wait for the next part of his personalised treatment to be ready.

When we first arrived here, they took a biopsy of Xave’s tumour so they could use his own tumour cells to create a personalised tumour vaccine specifically for him.

Once that is ready, Xave will receive it and then they will collect his T cells again.

The reason they collect his cells AFTER this stage is really exciting.

The aim is for the tumour vaccine to stimulate his immune system so those T cells are activated and recognising his tumour cells essentially getting them firing and ready to attack.

Those stimulated cells are then collected and prepared for the next phase.

The next phase is almost like a mini personalised CAR-T-style treatment. Xave will receive conditioning chemotherapy and then those cells will be given back to him.

This is the part we are incredibly excited about because this treatment is being made specifically around Xave and his tumour.

So while seeing the words “previous sites of disease have resolved” was everything we have been praying for, it doesn't mean our job here is finished.

Getting him to this point is one thing.

Our biggest goal now is keeping him here.

We have watched this cancer come back four times. We know better than anyone that a good scan doesn't mean we stop fighting.
And as much as we are desperate to come home, we still have a long way to go.

We miss Andrew and Izzy more than words can explain. Being separated as a family for this long has probably been one of the hardest parts of all of this.

The conditioning chemotherapy could potentially fall around Christmas, so we are going to do everything we can to hopefully be together as a family for that part. 💛

Financially, being here for this length of time is also incredibly tough. With the exchange rate, the cost of living here adds up very quickly rent, food, car hire, travel and medical expenses continue every single week.

To every single person who has donated, shared Xave’s story, held an event, raised money or supported us from home — THANK YOU.

You have no idea how much it helps.

Every donation is helping us keep a roof over our heads, put food on the table, get Xave to treatment and cover the medical expenses that come with being on the other side of the world.

I will share Xave’s fundraising details again, and if you aren't in a position to donate, please just share his story.

We completely understand how tough things are for everyone at the moment with the cost-of-living crisis. We never expect people to give what they don't have.

But sharing costs nothing and you just never know who that post might reach.

It might land in front of the right person, business or foundation who is in a position to help us keep going.

Even though we received the news we have been praying for, we still have so much left to do here.

For the first time in a long time, though, it feels like we aren't just chasing this cancer every time it comes back.

We are trying to get ahead of it. ❤️🎗️

And that is why we are still here.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-xavier-fight-relapsed-neuroblastoma

https://www.rarecancers.org.au/patient-stories/helping-xavier-pudovkin/

17/09/2026

THE NEWS WE HAVE BEEN PRAYING FOR😭💛

Today was scan day for Xave and I don't even know how to put into words how it feels reading this sentence:

“Previous sites of disease in the mediastinum, paraspinal region and osseous structures have resolved.”

RESOLVED. 😭

To put into perspective just how far our boy has come…
In June, Xave's MIBG Curie score was 4.

By the end of July, after arriving here in Pennsylvania and having a bridging chemo and radiation it had dropped to 2.

And today, his scan has been reported as a Curie score of 1.

The reason for the 1 appears to be a tiny stable right lung nodule with faint uptake that they are continuing to watch.

We will speak with his team to understand exactly how they are classifying this.

But the words we have been waiting to read are right there in his report:

His previous sites of disease have RESOLVED. ❤️
After FOUR relapses…

After packing up the boys lives and moving across the other side of the world…

After wondering whether we were making the right decisions…

After radiation, endless medications, chemo, hospital admissions, procedures, cell collections and everything this little boy has endured…

His disease has responded.

This is exactly what we came to Pennsylvania hoping and praying for.

We aren't finished. We are just getting started 🥹

We know neuroblastoma far too well to ever take a scan like this for granted.

Our goal isn't just to get Xave clear it's to find a way to KEEP him clear.

But today is a bloody good day.
Curie 4 → 2 → reported as 1.
And his previously known disease sites RESOLVED.

Keep doing your thing, Xave. ❤️🎗️

12/09/2026

Over the years of Xave’s journey,
we have lost friends, but we have also gained some of the greatest friendships with people who are walking, or have walked, this same unimaginable road.

We have lost family members along the way too, but we have gained people who we now genuinely class as family.

Right now, especially while our own family is separated across the other side of the world, one of the biggest things I’ve realised is that it’s simply about showing up.

Life keeps moving for everyone else, and that’s okay.
People have work, kids, commitments and their own struggles.

But while everyone else gets on with life, we are still living in turmoil.

Cancer doesn’t stop because time has passed.

The worry, treatment, scans, decisions and uncertainty are still our everyday life.

You don't need the perfect words.

You don't need to fix anything.

Sometimes just a message saying, “How are you guys going?” means more than you could ever realise.

It takes a minute to send, but to someone who feels a million miles away from home and everything familiar, it can mean the absolute world.

Just show up. 💛