Teen with cancer to fulfil photography bucket list

Liz is undergoing treatment for desmoplastic small round cell tumour

The family of an aspiring teenage photographer with a rare and aggressive form of cancer has praised the "phenomenal" support she has received to help fulfil her photography "bucket list".

Sixteen-year-old Liz, from Harrogate, was diagnosed with desmoplastic small round cell tumour in January.

Her mum, Vicky Roboyna, said doctors have told her daughter she has between six months and three years to live.

The family's bucket list appeal on X has given Liz some "amazing opportunities", Vicky said.

'Follow your heart'

Liz received the life-changing news two days after visiting a GP with abdominal pain during the Christmas holidays. Following scans, doctors discovered she had tumours on both her ovaries and liver.

"It's just been a bit of a change of normality, is the easiest way to put it," Liz said.

"I used to be very orientated around school work. Now, I have stopped all school work entirely. If I only have around three years left to live, what's the point in A-levels?"

According to bone and soft tissue cancer charity Sarcoma UK, an average of 12 cases of desmoplastic small round cell tumour are diagnosed each year in England.

The rare nature of the cancer means there is currently no standard care treatment. Almost £45,000 has been raised for Liz to enlist the help of a US-based expert in the disease.

Liz had been looking at universities prior to her diagnosis

"It's changed all our lives in a way we didn't expect," said Vicky, an autism specialist teacher at a North Yorkshire school.

"We were out looking at universities a month before, it all happened very suddenly. Her life was school, school, school. She was going to look at [Oxford and Cambridge]."

Vicky said she and Liz's dad Aaron had told their daughter to "follow your heart from now on".

Liz's family had hoped to send her to Los Angeles to meet her favourite photographer, David Suh, but struggled to find medical insurance for the trip.

Instead, Liz and Vicky came up with a wish list of photography experiences.

Thanks to the help of X users, the family were inundated with offers, which Vicky described as "phenomenal".

"It's completely blown our minds. Liz has had some amazing opportunities that we would never have put on the list."

'It was amazing'

Liz, who begins her fourth round of chemotherapy on Monday, is fitting the photography experiences around her treatment.

She has had offers to photograph the Royal Marines and theatre shows including Wicked and Cabaret. She has also already fulfilled one wish - watching an episode of her favourite TV show, Would I Lie To You?, being filmed.

"I went with my dad and my friend and we got to spend time in the green room with people on the show, it was amazing," she said. "I went home and didn't think anything could be as good as that."

Liz said another positive thing to come out of her diagnosis was growing closer to her eight-year-old brother Mateo.

"He's very protective of me," she said. "There's definitely a lot of bad luck but there are pros among the cons."

Liz has begun documenting her photos on her Instagram page

Liz took up photography in Year 6 after saving up to by her first camera and got the highest grade possible in the subject at GCSE, before starting an A-level in it at Harrogate Grammar School.

Vicky said her daughter's hobby had given her a "focus" since her diagnosis.

"She's just so kind, she always thinks of things to take to the nurses on the ward.

"She always thinks of other people, not just herself, so it's really, really lovely that other people have gone out of their way to help her - because that's the way she is."

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].