Grim prediction for Aussie toddler following rare diagnosis
Toddler Noah has undergone numerous treatments since his diagnosis in February.
After four long years of battling fertility issues, Sydney couple Laura and Cheyne were elated to welcome their "miracle baby" Noah in September 2021.
However, the family's lives now once again revolve around hospital visits.
With a "sudden onset" of symptoms and a subsequent biopsy, doctors diagnosed the toddler with Pineoblastoma — an "extremely rare" and cancerous brain tumour.
'Beautiful, happy baby' undergoes gruelling treatment
Since his diagnosis in February, 18-month-old Noah has received a number of treatments in attempt to combat the stage IV cancer.
"He has undergone five surgeries to relieve the pressure on his brain," the family told Yahoo News Australia. "The Oncology team have prescribed Noah with six-months of high dose chemotherapy. Despite numerous setbacks, Noah continues to battle."
Money raised for family to ease 'financial burden'
The family were told by doctors their "darling boy" was initially given a 20 per cent chance of a 5-year survival and, despite being "devastated", they remain hopeful for the future, thanks to a GoFundMe page set up by family friends Edwina Ruthven and Melissa Browne.
"As you can imagine, this has taken a severe toll on Laura and Cheyne," they wrote. "Laura has taken leave from work, and Cheyne has reduced his hours to care for their precious son."
"The financial burden on this family is immense, both in the short-term and the long-term."
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The fundraising page has raised over $102,000, with the family sharing they can now seek support from international experts and plan to travel overseas for a treatment currently unavailable in Australia with the money.
"The family would love to travel overseas to undertake proton beam radiotherapy," the family friends said. "Currently Australia doesn’t offer proton beam therapy [because of] the radiotherapy component and the technology [is not available]."
Despite the long road ahead of them, the family shared they were "beyond grateful" for all the donations.
"Whilst we still face a really long battle with upcoming expenses and loss of income more than the current fundraising amount, everyone’s generosity has made things easier," Cheyne wrote online.
"[We want] to just enjoy every precious moment of Noah’s remaining childhood," he said.
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