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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Entertainment
Katherine Heslop

Ashley Cain's daughter's foundation 'already helped five families' get cancer treatment

A foundation set up by Ashley Cain and his partner in memory of their baby daughter has already supported five families with cancer treatment plans abroad, in just six months.

The reality TV star, 31, and his partner Safiyya Vorajee, 33, lost their daughter Azaylia Cain in April, when she was just eight months old, following a leukaemia diagnosis.

Azaylia's story captivated the public, with her parents raising more than a £1 million prior to her death, which was donated to a charity set up in their daughter's name.

The Azaylia Foundation aims to support families that are fundraising for treatments not readily available on the NHS and to provide memorable experiences for children.

In an interview with OK! and ahead of a charity boxing match, the Ex on the Beach alum, explained how the foundation is already having an impact.

"As the foundation has grown and grown and grown, we've invested in cancer research, and we've invested in equipment that helps actual cancer research for developing treatments for these children," the former Coventry City player said.

"The Azaylia foundation is committed to advancing early diagnosis and treatment availability for childhood cancer, we are committed to supporting families like ours, when in the absence of treatments in the UK, they have to seek their last resort abroad. In just six months, we've supported five families with treatment plans abroad," he said.

Ashley Cain completed an epic bike ride for the Azaylia Foundation (Ashley Cain/Instagram)
Ashley cycled from Lands End to John O'Groats to raise cash for children with cancer (Ashley Cain/Instagram)

Ashley told OK! that he and his partner have also donated £20,000 to Birmingham's Children's hospital, where Azaylia stayed before her passing.

The grieving father explained that not everyone has a network like theirs, and "for a parent to have to try and raise such large amounts of money to potentially save their child's life can be unbearable and they might not be able to do so."

On March 5, Ashley will represent the foundation in a boxing match, as part of the Showstar influencer event at the SSE Arena, in Wembley, London.

He will be sparring with Youtube Andreas Eskander, 23.

Ashley Cain and Safiyya Vorajee have spoken honestly about the loss of their daughter (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Announcing the match on Instagram, Ashley said: "I told you I'd forever fight for my daughter. I told you I’d fight for these children. I told you I’d fight for everyone out there suffering loss."

He continued in the post: "I am not fighting for recognition, I am fighting for Azaylia and for all of the heroic children battling cancer."

Some seven more boxing matches are planned, each fight marking the months that Azaylia "fought [her] heroic battle against cancer."

Ashley Cain and partner Saffiya Vorajee have set up a foundation in memory of their daughter (Coventry Live / Bobby Bridge)

In a subsequent statement ahead of the event, Ashley said that he had "promised" to do his best to honour his late daughter's legacy, as reported by the Daily Mail.

Last year, the reality TV star cycled more than 1,000 miles from Lands End to John O'Groats for the foundation.

His late daughter was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia at just eight weeks old, with the condition said to have led to tumours on her lungs, stomach and kidneys.

She underwent treatment including chemotherapy, but sadly died in spring last year.

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