Gabriel
| Location | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Introduction | Hi my name is Gabriel and I am 8. I like boys stuff like motorbikes, and Skylanders. When I was 2 years old, and on the day that my sister was born, I became ill. 5 weeks later, on 25 July 2008, I was diagnosed with a brain tumour and days later my parents were told it had spread to my spine. On 7 August 2008 I was diagnosed with AT/RT - a rare, high grade childhood cancer. My family were told that there was no hope of a cure - but I proved everyone wrong and was given an experimental intensive chemotherapy regime with stem cell rescue (I was too little for radiotherapy). I put up a fight, had major surgery on my brain and my spine, spent prolonged periods in hospital and isolation, and somedays was so ill I could not stand up or spend more than a few moments awake. Since treatment finished in 2009, all of my scans have shown NED. Each day I get stronger. Nobody knows what the future holds for me - but is that not the same for everyone? I am now year 4 at school, have no side effects from treatment and am a happy and popular boy. My last dose of chemotherapy was 2 November 2009. That means that very soon I will be 5 years out of treatment. |