There’s no time during the year that a terminal cancer diagnosis is welcome. However, 17-year-old Dana Scatton of Pennsylvania in the US has been told this is her fate and, in a cruel twist of events, she just happens to be seven months pregnant.
And now, as her speech begins to slur and everyday tasks become more and more difficult, it’s just days before Christmas – a time when her family had never imagined may be Dana’s last.
According to UniLad, Dana was diagnosed with an inoperable rare brain tumour known as diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), a condition that is believed to be in its early stages of research and treatment, in November.
“I noticed that it took me a little to swallow, then walking got harder and it was even hard to speak,” Dana told the Daily Mail of her condition.
“I thought it could be the way the baby was sitting on nerves.”
Dana, the youngest of five children, faces an unbelievably tough battle ahead, with the treatment she needs to prolong her two-months-to-live prognosis to seven months posing a risk to her unborn little girl (who Dana and her boyfriend, Tyler, 21, have named Aries).
“[Dana] loves dance, music, sports, friends, but above all, her family,” her brother, JJ, wrote on the GoFundMe page he started for Dana so her family can cover her medical bills.
“After much thought and discussion, Dana has decided to forego the biopsy for several reasons, but mainly to mitigate any risk to baby Aries,” JJ continued.
“Out of all the DIPG cases and people I’ve spoken to, this is the first anyone has seen or heard of that involved a pregnancy. So now more than ever, we need tremendous prayer and guidance as we make the best decision for Dana and baby Aries.”
This Christmas, spare a thought for Dana and her family – we know we will be…
