Zac Eckworth, 11, has been fighting cancer for years after his parents noticed something unusual – his eye was “wobbling.” Concerned, Miriam and Colin Eckworth took their then 14-month-old son to the GP, who referred them to an eye clinic and experts at A&E.
Following an MRI scan and further tests, Zac was diagnosed with an optic nerve glioma, a slow-growing tumour located in or around the optic nerve that connects the eye to the brain.
Soon after his diagnosis, Zac was referred to specialists at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, where he underwent several rounds of chemotherapy. Although his tumour remained stable for nine months, it eventually started growing again, requiring further rounds of chemotherapy.
Now 11 years old, Zac continues to battle cancer and is currently participating in a drug trial aimed at shrinking the tumours.
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Miriam, from Basingstoke, Hampshire, shared the family’s challenging journey. She said: “This was a very difficult time for the family. It was hard for Zac, and it was hard for us to see him unable to be a child.
“Our daughter has just been born as well, and we knew the difficulties that chemotherapy would bring for Zac. Zac has a good quality of life, which allows him to recover emotionally from what he experienced in his younger years.”
Shortly after his diagnosis, Zac’s tumour was biopsied and found to have a BRAF-V600E mutation, which activates the MAPK signalling pathway, leading to uncontrollable cell division and tumour growth. Zac’s medical team enrolled him in a drug trial featuring Dabrafenib, an anti-cancer medication, and he responded positively to the treatment.
Miriam expressed her gratitude for the life-changing treatment option that has given Zac the opportunity to live a relatively normal life. She acknowledged the invaluable work of Professor Hargrave and the research that has made it possible for Zac to engage in activities typical of an 11-year-old boy.
Miriam said: “Every day we feel blessed to have been given this life-changing treatment option. It has given Zac the chance to live a relatively normal life.
“We are incredibly grateful to Professor Hargrave and all of his work, and we are thankful for the research that means Zac can do so many of the things 11-year-old boys do.”
While Zac is now visually impaired and will continue his treatment until he reaches his teenage years, it does not hinder him from pursuing his passions. He is on the verge of achieving a black belt in karate.
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Clinical Professor Darren Hargrave, a specialist in paediatric neuro-oncology at UCL and Great Ormond Street Hospital, highlighted the need for improved treatments for children diagnosed with brain tumours. He said: “Children diagnosed with brain tumours do not have the outcomes that children with other types of cancer have, and better and kinder treatments are a priority.
“The standard treatment for low-grade brain tumours can include multiple rounds of treatment – including surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy – for many years of their lives, and that often has profound long-term effects on their health.
“We want our research to improve the lives of children diagnosed a brain tumour, and the research we are going to carry out with this funding will enable us to do this. It is so important to translate the research we do in the labs into better outcomes to children.”
The Brain Tumour Charity recently awarded £1.6 million to experts, including those who have supported Zac, to advance knowledge of low-grade brain tumours. The Everest Centre for Research into Paediatric Low-Grade Gliomas, established in 2017 across the UK and Germany, initially received £5 million in funding from The Brain Tumour Charity.
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