Awesome - Child’s Medical Scans Confound Her Doctors After A Harsh Diagnosis
One Texas family received the worst news: their little girl had a deadly illness. It sucked the air out of their lungs as they were immediately thrust into the world of hospitals and exhaustive treatments. But despite statistics and scientific certainties, their family maintained unshakeable hope. And after months of giving it everything they had, the doctors were totally confused when it was time to gauge the results.
Average 11-Year-Old
Eleven-year-old Roxli Doss was an average kid. She attended church regularly, as the Doss family were active members. Outside school hours, she was happiest hanging out at the stables and learning to ride horses.
Feeling Off
Nearing the end of her school year, Roxli started feeling a little off. At first, she and her family chalked it up to a bad headache and brushed it aside. Over the next few days, though, her pain wasn't relenting, and Roxli couldn't ignore it.
Thought It Would Pass
Doing as sick kids do, she complained to her mom. Gena and Scott Doss went ahead and gave their daughter some children's pain reliever. Headaches happen, after all, and they hoped this would do the trick.
Headaches Persisted
Days turned to weeks, and Roxli's headaches grew stronger and more frequent. Her parents, concerned that their daughter was too young to experience incessant migraines, decided it was time to have their family physician weigh in.
Ran Tests
The doctor ran tests as a precaution to see if there was any visible explanation for Roxli's reoccurring headaches. Examining the lab findings, the doctor discovered an immediate root cause of the pain.
Upsetting Diagnosis
Gathered in the doctor's office, Gena and Scott were shattered by the news she delivered. Roxli's results confirmed that she had an extremely rare kind of tumor called Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, or DIPG.
Brain Tumor
A childhood cancer diagnosis is a very particular kind of devastation, and the Doss family received the worst of the sort. The location of her tumor, at the base of her brain and top of her spine, made it impossible to remove.
Worrying Side Effects
Gena and Scott listened as the doctor explained how the disease would begin to affect Roxli's body: "decreased ability to swallow, vision loss, decreased ability to talk, eventual difficulty breathing." Doctor Virginia Harrod at Dell Children's Medical Center words stung in their ears.
The Treatment Plan
With no known cure, the best Doctor Harrod could offer for medical advice was aggressively treating Roxli with radiation. No, her cancer wouldn't be cured, but at least it would buy her more time than what a typical DIPG diagnosis offers.
Second Opinion
Before they could accept this bleak sentence, they needed to get another opinion. DIPG was incredibly rare, so there was a chance of misdiagnosis. The moment they left the hospital, they reached out to their church community for prayers.
Visited Best Child Cancer Centers
Hopping on planes, the Doss family visited all the best children's cancer centers in the country: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, University of Texas MD Anderson in Houston, and Texas Children's Hospital in Austin.
The Specialists Agreed
Across the board, oncology specialists told them the same thing: Roxli's tumor was, in fact, DIPG. They listed the many bodily functions that would begin to shut down as cancer progressed. The general consensus was a rapid decline in breathing, heartbeat, swallowing, balance, and sight.
Refused To Give Up
Normally, patients facing a DIPG diagnosis live an average of 9 months after their initial diagnosis, but Roxli's family refused to resign themselves to a deadline. Gena and Scott put their game faces on, determined not to give up hope that their daughter would be the exception to the rule.
Needed A Miracle
Praying for a miracle, the family became a fixture at the Dell Children's Medical Center. Most children with a DIPG diagnosis fall between ages 5-9, so 11-year-old Roxli was even more of a medical anomaly.
Six Rough Weeks
Six days a week for six weeks, Roxli toughed it out in a hospital bed. When her arms weren't full of tubes, she was undergoing radiation to shrink the tumor below her brain. Along with treatment came the toll of nausea, fever, and constant fatigue.
Roxli Stayed Strong
Even in the midst of painful treatments, Roxli was in good spirits. The Doss family maintained extreme confidence in their faith, and their church community rallied to support them. A GoFundMe page was set up to help fund the unexpected costs of her immediate treatments.
Moment of Truth
After completing rigorous radiation treatments, Roxli and her parents stepped back into the hospital, this time to see if her tumor had shrunken as they hoped. Gena and Scott watched their daughter lay down for yet another MRI, they wondered how their lives had changed so much in a few months time.
Unbelievable Results
Armed with the knowledge that 70% of patients see effective shrinkage in tumor size from radiation, Dr. Howard examined the results. "When I first saw Roxli's MRI scan, it was actually unbelievable."
The Scans
Roxli's scans seemed impossible. Expecting to see a tumor reduced in size, Doctor Howard was astonished that the image of a child's brain was completely free of any signs of a tumor. It had utterly vanished.
Medical History
The odds were so unlikely, Roxli made medical history. She's the first DIPG patient to have their tumor fully removed by radiation therapy. In the eyes of the Doss Family, it's simply an example of a miracle.
Relied On Faith
"Every day we still say it. It's kind of our family thing that God healed Roxli," Gena said. Looking at statistics of her prognosis didn't falter the Doss' strength of faith for a second. They kept their prayers and hope alive, and in the end, Roxli defied the odds.
Medically Unheard Of
Still, the medical community was interested in how a result this positive came out of one of the worst childhood cancers. Dr. Hadjipanayis, director of neurosurgical oncology at Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, said the rapid elimination of tumor was unheard of, as was zero traces of its existence on an MRI.
Questioned Diagnosis
Outlining an explanation for Roxli's case, Dr. Hadjipanayis noted the possibility of the DIPG diagnosis as inaccurate. Granted, five of the top oncology centers in the country determined her cancer was the aggressive form of tumor, despite being unable to perform a biopsy.
Potential To Return
Whether a miracle of science or faith, we can't be sure. For the near future, Roxli must continue getting scans and tests from her medical team periodically to ensure the cancer cells won't return.
Combatting Regrowth
To stop the regrowth in its track, Roxli's receiving immunotherapy, a newer cancer treatment that involves redirecting your own existing cells to fight the disease. So far, the little trooper is back on her feet with her head held high.
Hope For The Future
Scott's smile could be heard in his words, "We didn't know how long she would be healthy and look at her, she's just doing awesome." It goes to show that maintaining hope in the face of the worst diagnosis has value.
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