Family urge public to pray after Cameron has cancer procedure

THE family of a 12-year-old Co Armagh boy with a rare and inoperable brain tumour last night asked the community for their prayers after he received disappointing scan results.

Cameron Truesdale from Waringstown became the only child in Northern Ireland to be diagnosed with a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) tumour, which affects just 40 children a year across the UK, on January 27 last year.

Doctors said few treatment options were available on the NHS, and the family flew to Mexico late last year for what was hoped to be life-saving treatment.

But on the Cure4Cam Facebook page yesterday, the family posted that they had received Cameron’s results from a PET scan — which measures the activity of cells — adding: “I’m afraid it was not good.”

In a statement, they said: “Cameron has a lot of cancer activity in the tumour in the pons (part of the brain stem). There is a centre of necrosis which is

Battle: Cameron Truesdale

dead tumour. There is no activity in this but around it is dangerously active and the doctors have said Cameron is progressing as his clinical status is now matching the recent scans.

“We never would have known the reason for Cameron’s decline without the PET scan as his tumour has not changed in size.”

They went on to describe how Cameron’s walking is becoming difficult and his speech has worsened, adding: “This is such an aggressive cancer that any treatment isn’t without its setbacks.”

However, there was brighter news last night after Cameron underwent a procedure with different drugs.

Speaking afterwards, the family said doctors were happy with how it had gone.

“Cameron is out from procedure and sleeping off the anaesthetic,” the family posted in a statement last night.

“The doctors are happy with how things went. Now all we can do is wait.

“Thank you for all the prayers and kind messages, we need them so much.

“This never gets easy putting him through this but what choice do have?

“We need this cancer to be gone. We need our son, his sisters need their brother. He needs so many prayers.”

Antrim-born snooker champion Mark Allen is among Cameron’s supporters, and earlier this year contributed to the fundraising campaign to pay for the experimental clinical trials in Mexico. Over £170,000 is now needed as Cameron still has to undergo four of his 10 treatments.

More information can be found at facebook.com/ cure4camfund/