Cancer-stricken baby from Whitehorse awaiting liver transplant

The family of a four-and-a-half-month-old baby from Whitehorse being treated for a rare form of liver cancer is preparing for a liver transplant procedure in Edmonton.

I want to be able to help my baby, to extend his life.- Charlotte Francis

Emmett Smith, the infant son ofCharlotte Francis and Michael Smith, has undergonefour cycles of chemotherapy, with a fifth on the way, and was recently moved in March to Edmonton for further treatment.

Francis says doctorsthereare conductingtests to see if a piece of her own liver can be transplanted into Emmett, who weights about 11 pounds.

But before any procedure can happen,Emmett needs to gain more weight, she says.

"He's so small and all of his blood vessels and everything would be too hard to work with," says Francis.

"I want to be able to help my baby, to extend his life."

Despite what he's gone through, Emmett is a smiling, happy baby, says Francis.

People have donated more than $10,000 to help support the familyusing a page set up on popular crowdfunding siteGoFundMe.com.