Tributes paid to 16-year-old Irish girl who passed away after cancer battle

Tributes are being paid to a 16-year-old girl who passed away after a long battle with cancer.

Alexandra Johnston, known to her friends and family as Ya Ya, was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma at the age of 13. The rare form of cancer affects the bones and the tissue around the bones. The disease has a 70 percent survival rate in children, but that number is lower at 56 percent in teenagers. The Derry teen passed away last Thursday, January 18 and was laid to rest yesterday. When she was first diagnosed with cancer, she was told she only had months to live. Ya Ya's family took to social media to share tributes to the young girl in her Facebook support group 'Just keep swimming Ya Ya.'  The teen's dad, Andre, said that his daughter's funeral was "the hardest day of our lives." He wrote:

"Today is going to be the hardest day of our lives but the strength our little Angel showed us all during her short life will get us all through. "We will never let our baby girl be forgotten and her name will live on forever as was her wish. Alexandra was an Angel long before she was born and she is leaving this world a saint."

Andre shared another post saying that Ya Ya was "Daddy's little girl" and "Daddy's best friend." Sons of Anarchy star Ryan Hurst also shared a tribute to Alexandra on his Twitter page. The teen was a big fan of the show and got to meet Hurst last year. https://twitter.com/RamboDonkeyKong/status/954930706341335042 Ya Ya's family have asked for any donations to be made to the Bandanas for the Brave and the Children’s Cancer unit charity care of Mrs Mona Murdock, 31 Bushmills Road, Coleraine. Images via Facebook.