Rochdale toddler's tumour 'too big' for lifesaving operation

The family of a little girl from Rochdale who is living with a devastating brain tumour say they are 'desperate' for help to take her abroad for lifesaving proton beam therapy.

Bodie McNulty, two, was diagnosed with a brain tumour over Christmas 2016 and underwent her first operation on New Year's Day.

Since then she has had 12 months worth of chemotherapy and while her parents say she responded well to it, the drugs have taken their toll on her.

Her parents, Kevin McNulty and Lauren Thornton, were first introduced to the idea of proton beam therapy at the start of 2018. Their consultant was cautiously optimistic and soon it was being suggested as the best chance for a full recovery.

Dad, Kevin, told Key103 News they began preparing to go abroad to get treatment, putting plans in place for while they were away.

But two weeks ago they found out the tumour had grown and was too big to operate on. Doctors told the family it exceeded the requirements for proton beam therapy by just three milimetres.

Kevin said it was a 'good job' they noticed otherwise Bodie would have been left with an untreated tumour, even after proton beam therapy.

Proton Beam therapy is relatively new to the UK.

The NHS describe it as:

"Conventional radiotherapy uses high energy beams of radiation to destroy cancerous cells, but surrounding tissue can also be damaged. This can lead to side effects such as nausea, and can sometimes disrupt how some organs function.

Proton beam therapy uses beams of protons (sub-atomic particles) to achieve the same cell-killing effect. A "particle accelerator" is used to speed up the protons. These accelerated protons are then beamed into cancerous cells, killing them.

Unlike conventional radiotherapy, in proton beam therapy the beam of protons stops once it "hits" the cancerous cells. This means that proton beam therapy results in much less damage to surrounding tissue."

Bodie's parents are now looking to take Bodie abroad privately for treatment. They originally looked at an option in the USA - that would have cost £175,000. Now, their medical team have said their best option could be to travel to Germany.