A young girl who captivated the hearts of Australians during her cancer battle has died years later after relapsing.
Uma Tomarchio was two years old when she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in 2020, before it worsened to a more aggressive form of cancer, Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, in 2022.
When her Italian parents, Giuseppe Tomarchio and Lucia Gardini, were unable to secure Medicare assistance for the then-four-year-old’s treatments, they reached out to the media and public for help, with Aussies donating more than $300,000.
In September that year, a successful bone marrow transplant meant she was largely cancer-free, until she was diagnosed again with Epstein-Barr Virus – potentially passed through donor cells – and then later with Lymphoma.
After a gut-wrenching stint in intensive care and an induced coma, Uma began to regain her strength by February 2023 as a five-year-old.
But in June this year, family friend Megan Mahon announced the young girl had died at seven-years-old.
She had relapsed with therapy-related Acute Myeloid Leukaemia in May, and while undergoing chemotherapy, Uma developed a fast-moving lung infection which her immune system was too weak to fight.
Ms Mahon said the fundraising and tireless work of her doctors had given Uma two fun-filled years of life before she relapsed with cancer for the fourth time.
The ‘bright-eyed, pony-loving’ daughter of two young parents has passed after a five-year battle with cancer (above)
She revealed the heartbreaking message Uma gave her parents in her final days, saying she ‘wanted to be free’.
‘Two years ago, thousands of you came together in a remarkable show of kindness to save a little girl you’d never met,’ Ms Mahon wrote on GoFundMe on Saturday.
‘Uma Tomarchio, bright-eyed, pony-loving, full of life, was fighting a ferocious battle against cancer. You opened your hearts and gave her the chance to live.’
‘They were two miraculous, beautiful, hard-won years. They were her soul’s time to play, to love, to teach, and to shine.’
When, on May 19, 2025, Uma relapsed for the fourth time, doctors moved quickly, starting treatment and preparing her body for a bone marrow transplant.
Just three weeks in, Uma developed a rare and aggressive lung infection that her immune system – weakened by years of therapies – could not overcome.
Ms Mahon wrote on the fundraiser she would like to help the family prepare for Uma’s farewell.
‘While nothing can ease the grief of losing a child, we want to give Uma the beautiful, unforgettable farewell she deserves, and ease the burden on her family, who have endured five years of unimaginable hardship,’ she wrote.
Uma Tomarchio (above), 7, told her parents, (father, Giuseppe right) she ‘wanted to be free’
Australians previously donated hundreds of thousands to help Uma’s parents (pictured as a family) pay her medical expenses
She is raising funds to cover Uma’s outstanding medical costs and a memorial service.
Ms Mahon raised the initial $300,000 sum for a life-saving bone marrow transplant for Uma.
After successfully receiving the transplant, Uma was declared ‘cancer-free’ in late October 2022.
Until in December, the family learned just before Christmas their little girl had Lymphoma.
Uma had ‘become unwell at the beginning of December’ after receiving the bone marrow transplant just over a month earlier.
‘She was admitted to hospital with a fever,’ Ms Mahon said.
‘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.
Family friend Megan Mahon said her successful treatments gave her two years of a normal life before she relapsed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia
Uma’s parents (above) said their daughter always found a way to smile despite her condition
The family spoke about the ordeal with Carrie Bickmore on Channel Ten’s The Project in August 2022.
‘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.
