Within weeks of starting school, Jack had started experiencing sickness and headaches which doctors put down to possible separation anxiety or vertigo. But when his parents Tom and Suzanna noticed that he was struggling to walk, they sought a second opinion and Jack was referred to Birmingham Children's Hospital the same day.
“When they told me the results of the MRI scan, I didn’t know what to feel,” said Tom. “As we were trying to digest everything, they were asking us to sign consent forms because they wanted to operate first thing the next morning. You’re reading these forms and all you see is - he might not make it out alive. It’s heartbreaking, it really is.”
Jack pulled through the ten-hour operation to remove the tumour, but it would take more than four weeks for doctors to figure out what specific type of medulloblastoma he had in order to effectively treat it.
“The research that’s going into diagnosing tumours is really important,” said Tom. “In Jack’s case there was quite a delay while they sent his tumour to Great Ormond Street to be analysed. During that time Jack was given some chemo just to start things off because they just wanted to do something rather than just wait. But all you want is for your child to be given the best possible treatment right from the start.”
Improving outcomes for every child
Christiana Ogunbote, Head of Research at Children with Cancer UK said:
“We are incredibly proud to help fund this innovative medulloblastoma research and are excited to see how it could change the experiences of children diagnosed with this disease and their families. Discovering new ways to improve outcomes for children with cancer is at the heart of what we are trying to achieve. Through continued and sustained investments in research we look forward to a day where every child can survive their cancer diagnosis.”
Dr Laura Danielson, Children’s and Young People's Research Lead at Cancer Research UK, said:
"Developing quicker, less invasive ways to accurately diagnose the different types of medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumour in children, is a crucial step in improving outcomes for young patients.
"This important study has identified a new way to distinguish between the four subgroups of medulloblastoma. This discovery paves the way for the development of simple imaging tests that could quickly and accurately diagnose the different types of medulloblastoma.
"This kind of discovery research is important to drive new and improved ways to better detect and treat cancers affecting children and young people."