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RIVERTON — A Riverton family is refusing to give up after learning their 7-year-old daughter has what doctors call an incurable disease.
Several months ago, Lizzy Thomson felt a strong headache on her left side. Her mother, Cheree Thomson, didn’t think much of it at first but then noticed headaches kept coming back and Lizzy's left eye began “deviating towards her nose,” she said.
Lizzy’s mother took her to the hospital where doctors said she had damage to her nerve and recommended Lizzy see a neuro-ophthalmologist, but the Thomsons never made it to that appointment. Within a week, Lizzy’s headaches became more severe and she was rushed to Primary Children’s Hospital for an MRI.
Doctors discovered a highly aggressive tumor in Lizzy’s brain stem, Cheree Thomson said.
The tumor, at the base of the brain, is known as diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas, or DIPG. Each year, there are 350-500 cases of DIPG, according to UCLA’s Health Pediatric Neurosurgery. The tumor usually impacts children under the age of 10.
What the family quickly learned was that treatment is almost non-existent in the United States.
“We were told ‘there is no treatment for your daughter,’” said Lizzy’s father, Jerry Thomson. “We were told she had nine months to live. This was the most devastating news that I have ever received in my entire life."
Doctors told the Thomson the problem with the DIPG tumor is reaching the blood brain barrier with medication.
The family had a hard time accepting that treatment was non-existent, so they did a little more research. They found that a facility in London uses a Convection Enhanced Delivery System (CED) to deliver anti-cancer medication to the tumor. This treatment made it so medicine would go directly into the tumor with a port on the side of the head, Jerry Thomson said.
The family also found a facility in Mexico with another method of treatment. There, doctors go through the arteries and implant a small catheter to deliver the medicine that way, Jerry Thomson said.
Lizzy’s parents are strongly considering taking her to Mexico for treatment, but costs for the first year is approximately $350,000 and would not be covered by insurance.
“We were told she had nine months to live. This was the most devastating news that I have ever received in my entire life."
The Thomson have already traveled to Mexico to check out the treatment there. They plan to make their decision on which facility they will choose by the end of the month. In the meantime, Lizzy is getting chemotherapy to prolong her life with one hope in her heart:
“I hope that this tumor is going to go away,” Lizzy said.
It is a hope her family believes treatment halfway around the world will accomplish.
“I am not saying this is a cure, but this is hope,” Jerry Thomson said.
To help pay for potential treatment, family and friends are hosting a fundraiser Saturday, August 12, from 6:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. at This is the Place Heritage Park, 2601 E. Sunnyside Avenue.
Friends and family have also set up a YouCaring* page to help raise funds for the family.
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
