Parents of Perth toddler Connor Marsh fighting brain cancer call for proton radiation to be available in Aus
Two-year-old Connor Marsh is in the fight of his life as he battles metastatic brain cancer.
But the treatment he needs is not accessible in Australia, making this devastating news even more difficult for his family.
In early November, Alex and April Marsh were given the news no parent wants to hear: their young son had a large, aggressive tumor called medulloblastoma in his brain. Many spots had already spread across his spine.
His family have since been told he would need radiotherapy. However, proton therapy, the treatment classified as the gold standard for children, is not available in the country.
Within a week of the shocking diagnosis, Connor underwent a 10-hour surgery to remove the main mass.
He is currently an inpatient on the oncology ward at Perth Children’s Hospital and will likely spend Christmas and his third birthday there as he undergoes intensive chemotherapy.
The cancer continued to spread rapidly.
It covers more than 80 percent of his spine, which puts pressure on his spinal cord, causing paralysis in the lower half of his body.
His father, Alex Marsh, said: “We’re still hopeful that his paralysis will go away and some of his functions will be restored, but every day is very challenging.”
“Despite all these difficulties, it is very likely that we will remain here for at least a few months before we can think of returning home.
“Currently I’m living in hospital 24/7 and April is splitting her time between home and hospital with her one-year-old (Connor’s little brother Lachlan) and the support of her mother, so it’s quite stressful.”
What made the diagnosis even more difficult was knowing that Connor would likely need to travel to Florida for proton radiation therapy.
Proton radiation therapy precisely targets cancer tumors.
In comparison, the output dose of traditional radiation is high, which means it spreads to healthy areas of the body. This can have long-term effects on the child, including brain damage.
Australia’s Overseas Medical Treatment Program will allow Connor and one of his parents to travel to the US for treatment, but support does not extend to other family members.
Marshes started a campaign GoFundMe page to keep the family together as Connor goes through this terrifying ordeal.
But they really hope the treatment will be successful. Available in Australia keeping families like theirs together and giving children with cancer the best chance of survival.
“It’s a pretty traumatic experience; you have to separate your family and put a child with a compromised immune system on a plane for over 30 hours,” Mr Marsh said.
“Many families are torn between taking the gold standard for their children or keeping the family together during this time.
“We have a great medical system in Australia, but this is an area where we are lagging behind. For this, children need their families to be together, parents need to be together.”
