Toddler Uma Tomarchio of Italian immigrants is diagnosed with cancer again before Christmas

A little girl who battled two cancers while her Italian immigrant parents desperately raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to treat her disease, has now been diagnosed with an even more aggressive cancer during Christmas week. 

Four-year-old Uma Tomarchio was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in 2020 before she developed Acute Myeloid Leukaemia in May of this year.

Despite being born in Australia, Uma has not been covered by Medicare due to the fact her parents, Giuseppe Tomarchio and Lucia Gardini, moved to Melbourne seven years ago on working visas and are not citizens.

It prompted family friend Megan Mahon to begin a fundraiser on GoFundMe to raise $300,000 for a life-saving bone marrow transplant for Uma.

After successfully raising the money and receiving the transplant, Uma was declared ‘cancer-free’ in late October – until the family were shattered to learn just before Christmas their little girl now has Lymphoma.

A family has been left shattered after their four-year-old daughter, Uma Tomarchio (pictured), was was diagnosed with another aggressive cancer – Lymphoma

Uma, who ‘loves Barbies and ponies’ was first diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in 2020 before developing Acute Myeloid Leukaemia in May of this year

Ms Mahon wrote on the GoFundMe page on Christmas day: ‘And so this is Christmas… I really wish I was coming to you with a feel-good Christmas story about Uma. Sadly, that’s not the case.’

She revealed that Uma had ‘become unwell at the beginning of December’ after receiving the bone marrow transplant just over a month ago. 

‘She was admitted to hospital with a fever,’ she continued.

‘Within days she had deteriorated and was sent to ICU with huge amounts of fluid and swollen lymph nodes in her neck.’

Uma was put on dialysis as the fluid and toxins were drained from her body, according to Ms Mahon. 

‘Eventually she was diagnosed with EBV – Epstein-Barr Virus. Doctors believe the virus (which is responsible for glandular fever and can make even healthy people unwell) was present in the bone marrow donor cells,’ she said. 

‘Devastatingly, earlier in the week, Uma was diagnosed with Lymphoma – cancer of the lymphatic system. It is known that for an immunosuppressed individual, contracting EBV is a risk factor for developing Lymphoma.’ 

Ms Mahon said her family and close friends were ‘still spinning at this news and can’t believe that this beautiful girl must once again find the strength to fight a different cancer’.

She asked for readers to ‘say a prayer’ for Uma and her family this Christmas as she battles against Lymphoma. 

Uma has not been covered by Medicare due to the fact her parents, Giuseppe Tomarchio and Lucia Gardini, are immigrants from Italy who came to Australia seven years ago on a working visa (pictured with her father Giuseppe)

Family friend Megan Mahon started a fundraiser on GoFundMe to raise $300,000 for a life-saving bone marrow transplant for Uma 

$390,000 was raised through the fundraiser and Uma was given a bone marrow transplant in October. However, in early December the toddler began to feel unwell again and doctors discovered she now had Lymphoma

Uma’s parents Lucia Gardini and Giuseppe Tomarchio desperately tried to raise money for a $300,000 bone marrow transplant for their daughter earlier this year after she was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia.

Their private health insurer told them it was not covered and the hospital demanded half the payment – $150,000 – before booking the operation. 

The family spoke about the ordeal with Carrie Bickmore on Ten’s The Project in August.

‘She is a very sweet, very happy little girl she always smiles, even in the hospital when she is very sick, she always finds a way to smile,’ Ms Gardini told Bickmore. 

‘One night she was very sick, vomiting and with a temperature and she just looked at me and said ”I’m not flying to the sky mum don’t worry, I’m staying with you’,’ she said 

‘Even then in that moment she was trying to make me feel better.’

The Project host, overcome with emotion, struggled to respond – managing a ‘wow’ as she choked back tears. 

An emotional Carrie Bickmore fought back tears speaking to Uma’s parents back in August on The Project (pictured)

‘Uma was diagnosed with (acute lymphoblastic) Leukaemia two years ago, at first she responded well to the treatment and went into remission immediately,’ her dad Giuseppe explained. 

‘But she relapsed and the disease mutated into a more rare and aggressive form.’

Ms Gardini told Bickmore ‘she went through a lot of chemotherapy and we were just starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.’ 

‘We can’t come do it in Italy for several reasons, especially as such a trip is not safe for her right now.’

The family had tried once before to go back to Italy but Uma had a seizure before she got on the plane. 

‘Uma was born here, she was in and out of hospital for two years, the doctors know her, the nurses know her, she knows the place like a second home.’

Lucia Galdini and Giuseppe Tomarchio revealed their struggles trying to raise money to help their daughter (pictured)

Ms Mahon explained the family has lived here for seven years after arriving as students and are working towards their permanent residency but are currently on working visas. 

‘Giuseppe is a partner in a business with his cousins, pays tax and employs 20+ Aussies,’ Ms Mahon said.

‘The business is still young and was impacted heavily by Covid.’ 

‘The family are active members of their local community and contribute to society, but still because of the complicated visa situation, they are not covered by Medicare for this life saving treatment.’

The family was told their application for permanent residency would not be approved because of Uma’s health condition. 

‘We’re giving jobs to Australians, paying the taxes, doing everything by the book to make this country better and be a good part of the community,’ Ms Gardini said. 

The family from Melbourne have lived in Australia for seven years (pictured L-R: Solejai, Lucia, Uma and Giuseppe) 

Up until August 20, 1986, babies who were born in Australia were automatically Australian citizens, but after that, the law was changed to make children meet one of two criteria. 

One or both parents need to be Australian citizens; or they must have lived in Australia from birth until they turn 10.

According to the Medicare Australia website: ‘Medicare is Australia’s universal health insurance scheme. It guarantees all Australians (and some overseas visitors) access to a wide range of health and hospital services at low or no cost’. 

For those that hold a Medicare card, the cost of essential operations at a public hospital are in most cases free. 

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the federal health department for comment.

The GoFundMe page for Uma and her devastated family has raised more than $390,000 so far.