A brave 8-year-old girl shows you can never be too young to leave a mark on history. The terminal brain cancer survivor, Claudia Burkill, from the United Kingdom, has been in and out of hospitals for exactly three years. But over the weekend, her parents, Andrea and David, were told their daughter had made a miraculous recovery from metastatic pineoblastoma. Claudia is now cancer-free and no longer classed as terminally ill, becoming the first in the world to beat brain cancer. As of 07/06/14 Claudia is no longer classed as terminal. 695 days before (13/07/12), came the terminal prognosis. pic.twitter.com/dWqZiaCZsU — Claudia's Cause (@ClaudiasCause) June 8, 2014 Over the years, the Burkills were told on several occasions Claudia only had a few weeks to live and that they should start planning her funeral. However, over the weekend, an MRI scan showed Claudia is now in the clear, although she has suffered some brain damage from the treatment. “A miracle has happened, it really has. I just can't stop shaking," said Andrea on her daughter’s Facebook page “Claudia’s Cause.” The 8-year-old first got sick in 2011 when she began vomiting after the Burkills returned home from a holiday vacation. Initially, doctors suspected Claudia had a virus, but several tests, a lumbar puncture, and MRI later, she was diagnosed with a squint at Lincoln County Hospital, the Mirror reported. It was not until Andrea transferred her daughter to Queens Medical Centre Notthingham that doctors found the deadly metastatic pineoblastoma tumor in the center of her brain. Usually, hydrocephalus — the buildup of flood pressure within the brain — is present in patients with pineal tumors. This commonly causes headaches and nausea/vomiting, says UCLA Neurosurgery, while some patients experience difficulty looking up. Doctors only see about three to four cases of metastatic pineoblastoma a year, which is inoperable and has no known cure. Claudia's leg gaiters! Our latest efforts to help her stand again. Taken within last 15 mins #love x pic.twitter.com/oLtMymVsKD — Claudia's Cause (@ClaudiasCause) February 25, 2014 With QMC guidance we're working to reduce Claudia's various medications - not too bad for an evening med tray #love pic.twitter.com/JImAo3prns — Claudia's Cause (@ClaudiasCause) March 22, 2014 Claudia experienced all of the symptoms of this lethal cancer, which involved 44 sessions of radiotherapy as part of an experimental Italian treatment, called The Milan Protocol. These sessions included some of the highest doses of chemotherapy ever administered to a child. This is thought to be the reason why doctors have reversed Claudia’s prognosis. “This is a very difficult brain tumor to treat so I am delighted that three years later Claudia has beaten the odds,” said Dr. Sophie Wilne, consultant paediatric oncologist, Nottingham Post reported. Wilne confirmed the MRI scan showed no traces of the tumor. The Nottingham Children’s hospital is "really pleased and wish her and her family the best for the future.” Andrea quickly took to social media to share the good news. “We had lived with a terminal diagnosis with death believed to be imminent for a crazy 694 days,” Andrea wrote on the Facebook page. “Today is the very first day in a very long time that I can look into the eyes of our four stunning children and “know” that I don’t have to plan the funeral of one of them in the very near future.” She continued to say, “There are no signs of any tumor, any leptomeningeal spread or any recurrent disease, anywhere.” The Burkills are overcome with joy and hope they can spend more time with their daughter. Claudia will now be seen with a brand new blonde hairstyle, which according to Andrea, makes her look just like she did before cancer. Claudia now can join her siblings Abigail, Esme, and Zachery, and her parents, as they know they can now get through anything. Source
