Family's treatment hopes for 11-year-old girl with brain tumour

The family of an 11-year-old girl who was diagnosed with a brain tumour are trying to raise £200,000 for pioneering private treatment abroad.

Grace, from Great Glen in Leicestershire, was diagnosed following an eye test during the summer holidays.

She had an operation in September to remove the tumour but scans have shown it is growing back.

NHS England has been contacted for a response.

Grace had an operation on 3 September which removed 80% of the tumour and is currently undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Her mum Vanessa said: "Just before her cancer treatment began, she had an MRI scan which revealed the tumour had grown back.

"I was devastated. Not only had it grown back, but another smaller tumour had also developed."

Now the family are fundraising on Just Giving to take Grace to a centre in Cologne, Germany, which offers immunotherapy, a type of treatment that works through the immune system.

Vanessa said she had been told by doctors that Grace would not be a candidate for the treatment in the UK.

"The staff at the hospital are great and we appreciate all they're doing, but this treatment on its own is not enough to beat this aggressive cancer," she said.

"It's so distressing knowing there's no cure for what Grace has, but we don't want to give up."

Hugh Adams, head of stakeholder relations for the charity Brain Tumour Research, said: "This is such a devastating story, and we are so very sorry to hear of Grace's terrible diagnosis.

"More must be done to develop treatments and improve outcomes for patients like Grace."

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