Girl fighting cancer gets bald princess photo shoot to feel beautiful again

Isabella Harvey of Staten Island, New York, was first diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of 3.

Now 5, Isabella is battling cancer for a second time: She relapsed in September.

When her cancer treatments this fall left her bald and feeling not as “beautiful” as the Disney princesses she admired, her mom tried to reassure her.

“This time the whole experience was different because she’s older,” Isabella’s mom, Pina Harvey, told BuzzFeed News. “Now that she’s 5, she’s insecure about losing her hair. It’s hard for her. She always wears a hat and never takes it off in public.”

"As a mom, you tell your child they’re beautiful, but they’re not going to take you seriously because you’re their mom," Pina told TODAY.com.

Family friend Tammi D’Antoni decided to take action. A board member of Gianna Nicole’s Heart of Hope, a foundation that supports paediatric cancer patients and their families, she recruited photographer Alana Hubbard to create a photo shoot that would make Isabella feel like a princess.

Isabella was released from the hospital just one day before the scheduled shoot at a princess-themed fundraising event in Bloomfield, New Jersey.

She put on a beautiful gown, but was still self-conscious about her bald head.

Then a “real” princess arrived on set — a beautiful, bald princess.

Chelsea Knutson from Bella Princess, a company that sends performers in character costumes to children’s parties and events, was wearing a bald cap under her sparkly headband.

“When Cinderella came into the room and Isabella saw she didn’t have any hair, her face was priceless,” Pina told BuzzFeed News. “She felt like she could be a princess too.”

"[Isabella’s] reaction was so emotional and happy everyone in the room teared up," photographer Hubbard told TODAY.com via email. “She took her hat off immediately and said, ‘Wow she looks just like me!’ And in a split moment she transformed from an insecure and shy little girl into a confident and ecstatic princess!”

Some of Isabella’s four siblings were also on hand to participate in the photo shoot.

In post-production, Hubbard added fairy-tale touches to the photos: fantasy backgrounds and plenty of sparkle. She even added different location backgrounds, as Isabella has always wanted to travel but is too sick to do so.

The sweet photos are now going viral.

While Isabella is still undergoing cancer treatments, her mother says the 5-year-old is now hoping her fight will inspire other kids to be brave and feel beautiful, too.

Pina told ABC News that Isabella has been showing the photos to everyone at the hospital.

“I want her to be healthy and happy. Her hair doesn’t make a difference to me,” Pina said. “This definitely helped give her a boost of confidence that she needed, and showed her that anybody can be beautiful, with or without hair.”

Check out more of Hubbard’s photography on her Facebook page, Mother Hubbard Photography.