ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orange County mother Pamela Dunston is calling on parents to listen up.
She said her 5-year-old daughter Traviana was recently diagnosed with a rare, aggressive brain tumor called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), with her doctors only giving her a few months to live.
It’s a rare, pediatric brain tumor that doctors said needs more funding for research.
“As me being a parent, I just have to be strong for Traviana and spend these sweet memories with her,” Dunston said.
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Dunston is trying her best to keep it all together for her brave, smart and energetic daughter who loves to sing, dance and have a good time.
She said that back on April 1, doctors diagnosed Traviana with DIPG.
“My reaction when the doctors told me that, I broke down,” Dunston said. “I had a lot of questions about where it came from, what I did wrong. So, it’s nothing I did wrong, the doctor just told me it’s something that just happens.”
She said she rushed her daughter to Orlando Health when she realized something wasn’t right.
“She went to limping and I’m in the house like, ‘Girl, stop playing like that,’ and this whole time my baby was really suffering, and I didn’t know that,” Dunston said.
But, after a few tests, she got the horrifying news.
“They told us, ‘Your daughter has cancer and it’s called DIPG,’” Dunston said. “They said, ‘We give your daughter six months to live.’”
Dr. Avery Wright is a pediatric oncologist at Orlando Health. She said in general there’s a lack of funding for research regarding pediatric brain tumors, and for that reason, there really are no known underlying causes for DIPG.
“It is one of the worst things that can ever be diagnosed in a child,” Dr. Wright said. “DIPG, it happens in 1 in 100,000.”
She said parents should particularly look out for weakness or numbness in one side of their child’s body, adding DIPG affects kids usually between 6 and 9 years old in any community and that surgery to remove the tumor is not really an option.
“You can do some radiation, you suggest the family can choose to go to a clinical trial or not, and in the majority of the time patients end up surviving about 9 to 12 months after their diagnosis,” Dr. Wright said.
It’s a sad reality for this mother of three who is trying to beat the odds.
She’s set up a GoFundMe account for funds to help her travel to and take part in a pediatric trial at Baptist Health in Miami that she hopes will help at least shrink her daughter’s tumor. Visit the GoFundMe by clicking here.
“I want other parents to know, just be on the lookout for your kids,” Dunston said.
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