Truck stolen from family of 8-year-old cancer patient traveling cross-country for treatment

LOS ANGELES -- Nevaeh Griffin, 8, from Pennsylvania, spent her first night in Southern California Thursday.

"I'm glad that I can walk outside without a coat on," she said.

Amber and Jason Griffin, Nevaeh, her 2-year-old brother and two dogs have packed themselves into a tiny hotel room in Sherman Oaks, but this isn't a vacation.

The Griffins are in Southern California to save Nevaeh's life. Eleven months ago, Nevaeh was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer. Chemotherapy has stopped working and the cancer is spreading.

"She's got nine tumors in her lungs right now that they're trying to control. It's spreading extremely fast," Amber said.

Their last hope is Bicher Cancer Institute in Los Angeles, but their cross-country drive got off to a rough start. Their truck with all their belongings inside was stolen from an Indiana hotel. The stolen truck contained everything from clothes and toys to family photos, medical records and Social Security information.

Nevaeh is heartbroken and taking it hard.

"Give it back," she said, when asked what she wanted to tell the thieves.

It was the first of many bad breaks for the family along their trip that included lost luggage, an entire town losing power and trouble at the doctor's office on Thursday.

"The PET scan broke down right before my daughter went to go get in, and I'm just wondering if this is a sign that we should go home or tough it out and try to see if this treatment works. But this is our last hope, period, for her treatment," Amber said.

But there is a bright spot. A GoFundMe account, originally set up last year, exploded this week once people heard of their troubles. The campaign has raised nearly $60,000 - the radiation procedure costs $65,000.

On Monday, Nevaeh is set to start hyperthermia treatment, which is the use of targeted heat to kill cancer cells. It's a treatment normal done on adults and which Bicher is a pioneer of.

The Griffin family will know in a few weeks whether the treatment works on Nevaeh.

To help cover Nevaeh's cancer treatment, visit www.gofundme.com/99y97k.