It’s been over a year since a fundraising campaign was launched to bring a children’s cancer care centre to Waterloo region.

The initiative was inspired by the story of a family who knows what it’s like to go to another city for treatment.

Three-year-old Scotland Santos has been cancer free for just over a year.

“She's doing well. She's thriving in every sense of the word,” her mother Joy Stewart told CTV News.

At roughly 12 weeks old, Scotland or “Scottie” was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer. The girl, who lives in Waterloo, received most of her treatment from Hamilton.

“In terms of MRIs, chemo, treatment, everything like that, we have calculated it, and we have driven over 25,000 km at this point – which is two-thirds the distance around the world,” Stewart said.

At any given time, 200 to 250 children in Waterloo region are in a similar situation – travelling to Hamilton, London or Toronto for cancer care, according to the Grand River Hospital Foundation.

Scottie's parents hope that will one day be a thing of the past, sharing their story as part of a fundraising campaign called Scotland’s Yard. The initiative is aimed at bringing a pediatric cancer centre to Waterloo region.

“Cancer is just a really hard journey, just hopeful to make it a bit easier, that's our ultimate goal,” her dad Brian Santos said.

Already $1.2 million has been raised. The end goal is $50 million in ten years.

“I was just so worried that people would hear the goal and think it would be crazy, and instead of that, people just embraced it and asked ‘how can we help,’” Santos said.

The biggest fundraiser so far was a road hockey tournament featuring several NHL players.

There have also been fashion shows, golf tournaments, lemonade stands and an anonymous $250,000 donation at the end of 2022.

Donations will go to the Grand River Hospital Foundation.

“It’s been remarkable. So, we're working with the group to really create some magic,” said Paul Mcintyre Royston, CEO of the Grand River Hospital Foundation.

There's no firm timeline yet for when a children's cancer centre in the region could become reality. But along the way, the plan is to use funds raised to incrementally improve care locally – starting with a positron emission tomography or pet scanner that costs $6 million and will improve the ability to diagnose children as well as adults.

“Right now, 1,200 people have to leave the city to go and get it in Hamilton and London, and so it really needs to happen here, and there's not one in Waterloo or Wellington,” Royston said.

Scottie’s family said they are confident the goal will be met because of the strength of the community and all the support they’ve already received.