“She won’t live long enough”: Devastated parents of a three-year-old brain cancer warrior drop a shattering emotional confession as a staggering overnight miracle saves her life.
Rare treatment unlocked for three-year-old South Australian girl with rare brain cancer
Elsie Avery is just three years old and diagnosed with a rare and aggressive tumour on her brain stem.
A South Australian family desperately trying to raise funds for overseas treatment to save their little girl has been overwhelmed by community support to reach their goal.
Elsie Avery, 3, is now likely to get a rare and critical cancer treatment after Australians rallied behind the Mount Barker family and pushed their fundraising campaign past its $400,000 goal — a breakthrough that came in the hours after her story aired on 7NEWS.
Elsie’s only chance of survival is a personalised treatment – an mRNA vaccine designed to target the three-year-old’s cancer using DNA taken from the tumour – which is available overseas.
Her parents told 7NEWS on Friday that they were completely overwhelmed by the nearly 5000 people who donated to fund Elsie’s mRNA vaccine.
“It’s very overwhelming,” Abbey said. “Yesterday morning we were maybe a quarter of the way to the GoFundMe goal, and then we woke up today to this huge response from the public overnight.”
“Thank you doesn’t seem enough. The generosity has been absolutely incredible — from people we know and complete strangers from around the country. It’s just been overwhelming, and we’re so grateful.”
SA family’s desperate bid to save three‑year‑old daughter from rare brain cancer
Her family first noticed subtle changes just before Christmas. After two hospital visits, doctors ordered an MRI and within an hour, the tumour was found.
“They just deliver the news to you that there’s a 4cm tumour in the middle of Elsie’s brain stem,” Abbey told 7NEWS on Thursday.
Most children with DIPG are given nine to 12 months to live. Surgery is not possible, and radiation is the only standard treatment.
“We met with the neurosurgeon on the Sunday,” Abbey said.
“My main question to him was what will the side effects of the radiation be for Elsie? I just remember his comment so vividly — it was, ‘she won’t live long enough to experience those side effects’.”
A clinical trial opening in Adelaide offered a brief glimmer of hope, but Elsie missed the eligibility cut-off by weeks.
Friends launched a GoFundMe to help the family privately fund a personalised mRNA vaccine — a treatment produced by a single manufacturer in Canada and designed to target Elsie’s tumour using DNA taken from the tumour itself.
“That’s when you’re met with the figure — you can, but it’s $400,000,” Dane said.
Organisers say the funds cover manufacturing, medical preparation, administration and treatment-related care, with Elsie’s results expected to contribute to broader DIPG research.