Dana Scatton, 17, was diagnosed with DIPG, an aggressive brain tumor, last week and has been given three to nine months to live. Photo / Facebook
Dana Scatton, 17, was diagnosed with DIPG, an aggressive brain tumor, last week and has been given three to nine months to live. Photo / Facebook
A pregnant 17-year-old is fighting for her life and the life of her baby after being given three to nine months to live because of a rare and incurable brain tumour.
Dana Scatton, from Pennsylvania, was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (or DIPG) last week and is due to give birth to a girl in February.
Doctors are pressing to deliver the baby within three weeks so Scatton can begin radiation therapy immediately, which could prolong her life to nine months and decrease the baby's risk of complications. Without treatment, doctors have given her two to three months to live.
DIPG only affects about 300 children each year and is most commonly found in children under 10 years old, making Scatton's case extremely rare.
The disease has a less than one per cent chance of survival and 90 per cent of patients die within 18 months of diagnosis. No one has been cured.
Scatton told Daily Mail Online that she and her family are still consulting with doctors to determine the best treatment to extend her life and save the baby - something the teen said would be a Christmas miracle.
Scatton told Daily Mail Online she started to experience difficulty speaking last month.
"I noticed that it took me a little to swallow, then walking got harder and it was even hard to speak," Scatton said.
She said things got worse this month. When she went to catch the bus to school her legs began to feel limp, leaving her unable to walk properly.
At first the college student thought it could just be stress from the pregnancy and school.
"I thought it could be the way the baby was sitting on nerves," she added.
Less than two weeks after her initial symptoms, Scatton told her doctor what she was experiencing during a routine visit to check on the baby.
She was in the emergency room the next day where she had a cat scan and MRI, which found a large tumour on the base of her brain.
Within hours of the MRI, doctors delivered the diagnosis and prognosis.
Scatton said the first thing that went through her mind when she heard the diagnosis was: "Is my baby going to be okay?"
Her mother Lenore, 51, had a similar thought: "Am I going to lose my baby?"
The prognosis is grim.
Because Scatton is pregnant, there has been hesitation to begin radiation that could prolong her life to nine months if started immediately. Cancer rarely affects a growing baby directly but having cancer while pregnant can be complicated for the mother and child because of aggressive treatments.
Radiation can harm the fetus in all trimesters so doctors generally avoid using it during pregnancy.
The therapy uses high-energy x-rays to destroy cancer cells. The risks to the baby depend on the radiation dose and the area of the body being treated.
A fetus is most at risk for birth defects such as stunted growth, deformities and abnormal brain function from radiation exposure within the first trimester.
However, since the treatment would be on Dana's head and away from her pregnant belly, doctors predict a low-risk of the radiation affecting the fetus.
In the week since the diagnosis, the family has been consulting doctors from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and St Jude's Children's Hospital.
They are contemplating waiting another three weeks for the fetus to reach 34 weeks gestation before having a c-section to ensure the health of the baby.
With Scatton's symptoms worsening each day, doctors do not recommend waiting any longer.
The teen, who danced for 13 years and played soccer and basketball, is now having difficulties with everyday tasks.
"I can't do as much for myself anymore, like not being able to put my pants on without probably falling," Scatton said.
Although the prognosis is devastating, she remains hopeful. "I'm not going to go by what they say, I'm expecting a miracle," she added.
Dana is seven months pregnant and due to give birth in February but doctors are planning to induce labour in three weeks due to her condition. Photo / GoFundMe
DIPG is a cancerous tumour that starts in the brain stem, the part of the brain just above the back of the neck and connected to the spine.
The tumour is inoperable and surgery to obtain a biopsy is unsafe because of its location.
The treatment provides a temporary cure to extend life, but does not fully rid the body of the disease.
The news of Dana's diagnosis has been devastating to her and the family, according to Lenore.
She said: "We're in kind of a daze. Your mind is going a mile a minute and it's hard to absorb the things they tell you at the hospital."
Lenore and Scatton's father Robert have taken time off of their jobs at Amazon and a YMCA to take care of their daughter full-time.
Scatton is the youngest of nine children.
The support from family and friends has been overwhelming and Lenore said that since Dana's brother JJ took to Facebook and made a GoFundMe for medical expenses, people from around the world have sent their prayers and support.
