Canadian Aleisha Hunter, now 4, has made a full recovery after two years of treatment for breast cancer. The Toronto resident is the youngest person to be diagnosed with the disease.

The story began when the young girl began to have a swelling in her breast in December 2008. Her mother, Melanie, discovered a lump the size of a green bean after a bath. At the time, Aleisha was not yet three years old.

In January 2009, the swelling increased, generating a small 2 cm sphere, which prevented Aleisha from sleeping, because of the pain.

After the cancer diagnosis, a mastectomy – a surgical procedure to remove the breasts – was performed and 16 lymph nodes were removed from her body. The procedure was successful, the cancer was removed and the treatment did not require chemotherapy or radiation. The girl left the hospital three days after the operation.

“I know I had breast cancer and the doctors cured me,” Aleisha told the British newspaper “Daily Mail”. “I know the disease can make some people go to heaven, but I’m better now.”

While recovering from surgery, Aleisha had the company of her teddy bear named Ash. In the photo, the “partner” is wearing a mask. (Photo: Global News/Barcroft Media/Getty Images)

The doctor who performed the operation, Nancy Down, said she had never seen a similar case in her 25 years in the profession. “This is the most recent case known in the world,” the expert said. Doctors believe the cancer will not return, but Aleisha will undergo constant check-ups over the next few years and will undergo breast reconstruction surgery when she reaches her teens.

Breast cancer is rare in children because there is little tissue and female hormones have not yet manifested themselves. The risk increases with the onset of puberty, but normally affects women over 30. Before Aleisha, the youngest person to be diagnosed was Hannah Powell-Auslam, who was diagnosed with the disease when she was just 10, in 2008.

*With information from the Daily Mail