Seven Years Old Aubrey Rothery is diagnosed with deadly form of brain tumour which kills sufferers within 12 Months

 

Aubrey Rothery, like other young children, had his fair share of furniture-related incidents.

However, what most parents would easily attribute to the rough and tumble of childhood turned out to be a symptom of a malignancy that kills the majority of patients who contract it within a year.


Aubrey's parents, Andrew, 54, and Samantha, 51, suspected something was wrong when their seven-year-old began losing his balance and colliding with objects.

However, they initially discounted it as the result of a growth spurt.

When the incidents continued, the couple sought assistance from medics to determine the cause of Aubrey's mistakes.

 

An MRI indicated that their 'loving lovely boy' had a diffuse midline glioma (DIPG).

The rare brain tumour, which affects about 20 to 30 youngsters in the UK each year, typically appears in children aged five to ten.

It grows in the midline, between the two halves of the brain, and kills the vast majority of people who contract it within a year.

Only 2% of patients survive five years following diagnosis.

DIPG patients can expect to live for an average of eight to eleven months.
The disease spreads throughout the brain, creating a variety of symptoms, one of which is difficulty walking, coordinating, or maintaining balance.

Mr Rothery, a community development worker from Newton Abbot, Devon, claimed the family was 'in pieces' after Aubrey's unexpected diagnosis in February.

'It was really mild at first, he was bumping into pieces of furniture,' he added.

'He had grown a lot and is fairly gangly, lively, and busy, and we assumed he was simply not paying attention to where he was going.

All of this happened in two days, and our lives were flipped upside down out of nowhere.

'In some ways, hope seems to be the most crucial thing we have to cling on to - the diagnosis is harsh, and the prognosis is gloomy.

'We were just in bits; it was a huge shock.

He said, 'This can't be happening to our precious lovely boy.'

After Aubrey was sent home from school due to balance concerns, his parents sent him to the doctor, fearing he had a viral illness.

Their family doctor then advised them to go to the hospital immediately.

He is now being treated at Bristol Children's Hospital using radiotherapy, which uses targeted blasts of radiation to kill cancers.


However, he now spends the majority of his days in bed, only able to play for 10 minutes before needing to rest.

 Mr Rothery and Ms Hibbert, a full-time mother, said they are trying not to give up hope while acknowledging that DIPG patients do not have a good prognosis.

'It's devastating; we have responded like you do as a parent; you do anything you can for your children, and that's what we're doing.' Mr Rothery stated,

'If you look at the history of survival rates for this cancer, there aren't many survivors.

'We checked and didn't find much evidence of survivors after five years, but it doesn't imply it couldn't happen.

'What we're focused on is optimism and positivity; cancer survivors know that positivity and hope are essential for survival.

'We're fostering a sense of positivism, support, and love among ourselves and his family, friends, and the larger community.'

The pair hopes to raise awareness about the cancer while raising funds for Aubrey's potential treatments.

They are currently looking for prospective clinical studies for DIPG, but Aubrey will need to have a biopsy to be eligible.

Such a biopsy is a difficult task considering the cancer's location and the sort of tumours caused by DIPG, which are difficult to identify from healthy tissue.

They have already raised more than £10,000, with a goal of £25,000.

DIPG symptoms vary according on the type and location of the tumour.

The most common symptoms of DIPG, in addition to balance issues, are weakness in the arms and legs, difficulty controlling facial expressions or one side of the face appearing different than the other, speech problems, swallowing or chewing issues, and vision problems such as seeing double or being unable to control the eyes.

Scientists still don't understand why DIPG triggers in the first place.

Because of its position in the brain and the difficulty in distinguishing between cancer and healthy tissue, surgery is typically not an option for DIPG treatment.