Parents of a toddler recovering from leukaemia have started a petition to get the government to provide financial help for families with seriously ill children.

Melissa Michael-Darmoo, 30, and husband Frank Darmoo, 36, of Westbrook Road, Heston, are urging people to sign the e-petition, named after their two-and-half-year-old daughter Isabella, in a bid to get the government to listen.

Izzy’s Wish (Giving Families Hope) was launched on March 24 and in just 10 days has seen more than 850 signatures, but there is still a long way to reach the 100,000 names required to get Parliament to consider the matter worthy enough to talk about.

Mrs Michael-Darmoo said: “The government do not offer help for families.

"I have heard stories where families have had to leave their homes and you cannot turn to the government in times of need.

"It is not an option or lifestyle choice if your child has cancer.

“On top of all the emotions you go through there is the stress too.

"Your whole concentration should be on your child and it is very sad they don’t help.

"They need to wake up and realise families are losing their home and accumulating debt.

"The government need to have some sort of funding.

“The great thing about us is we are a very close family and luckily for us my family supported us as much as they could but when it comes to finances it’s you and your husband and you don’t want to rely on anybody else.

"We came to realise quickly we started going into debt.”

The family had their lives turned upside down after finding out their then 18-month-old daughter had been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL) in March last year.

For nine months Mrs Michael-Darmoo was forced to take unpaid leave to look after daughter Isabella (Izzy), now two-and-a-half years-old, and the family lived on one salary but with increased expenses such as regularly travelling to and from home and hospitals.

Mrs Michael-Darmoo returned to work in January but Isabella has struggled to stay at home with her grandparents and therefore the mother-of-two has decided to take a career break.

“My daughter’s health is more important than money,” she said.

“Seeing your child fight for their life is the toughest journey a parent can go on.

"But I also remain positive for my little girl. For me prayer has helped me to get through this tough time.

"It’s been a grilling journey but it’s time to make a change and stand up for families – it’s simply not fair.”

Feltham and Heston MP Seema Malhotra said of the petition: “The campaign that Melissa and her family are kickstarting absolutely deserves the support of the whole community.

“If you do one extra thing this week, I would log on to the Internet and back this campaign so that it gets a debate in Parliament.

“Over the last few years, we have seen the cost of living rise and with that, family debt increase.

“Anyone with a member of their family diagnosed with cancer or other serious illness knows the impact it can have, and parents forced to give up work to care for their children must have the support they need.”

Isabella entered the cancer trial ‘UKALL 2011’ and is in the maintenance stage until July 2015.

According to the trial website this is the longest but most gentle phase of treatment.

It lasts for just under two years for girls and three years for boys and is necessary to reduce the risk of the disease coming back.

She has chemo administered at home by her mum and is still in and out of hospital for regular check ups during her recovery.

Sign the petition at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/62727