A desperate family is appealing for help to pay for their daughter’s cancer treatment, which they say is their only hope of giving her a chance of survival.
Eight-year-old Freya Bevan was first diagnosed with a primitive neuroectodermal (PNET) in May 2014, when she was 22 months old. Having undergone surgery and chemotherapy, a huge fundraising effort helped Freya to access proton beam therapy in the US. Six years of stable scans followed but devastatingly, in October 2020, a new tumour growth was detected.
The family have since returned to America for lifeline treatment. They have been given the devastating news that the tumour is now a high-grade glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and spreading fast. Freya has undergone further proton beam therapy and the family are now awaiting another MRI scan.
In the meantime, with medical bills stacking up, her parents Kath and John-Paul are doing everything they can to try and save their daughter. As they continue to privately fund Freya’s make or break treatment, they are urging people to follow their daughter’s journey on their Facebook page, Freya Bevan And Her Fight, and to consider donating via her GoFundMe page.
Kath said: “It pains us to have to rely on the support and generosity of others, in order to give Freya the best shot at life. We’ve searched the world for the best treatment options for our darling girl and we will continue to go to the ends of the earth to try to rid her of this vile disease.
Hugh Adams, our Head of Stakeholder Relations, said: “We were so very sorry to learn about the latest developments in Freya’s condition and wish her all the very best for her continued treatment. She is an extremely brave little girl and our thoughts are with her and her family, as they continue to fight this beastly disease.
“It is absolutely appalling that Freya’s parents find themselves in a situation where they have to travel thousands of miles to access expensive, private treatment, which is pushing them to their financial limits. Their family has been ripped apart and they deserve so much better.
“Funding for research into brain tumours needs to be increased to £35 million a year in order to prevent more families from being plunged into this nightmare. We need to improve options and outcomes for patients like Freya. We owe it to her, to her loved ones and to everyone for whom childhood brain cancer becomes a reality.”
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