A toddler has been diagnosed with an incurable tennis ball-sized brain tumour after his parents thought he had a “stomach bug”.
Just ten days after his first birthday, Lucas García-Batalla was diagnosed with a grade 3 anaplastic ependymoma, a fast-growing malignant tumor.
His diagnosis came as a shock to his parents, David Garcia Jurado, 42, and Laura Batalla, 38, from Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire.
They assumed Lucas, now six, had a stomach bug just before his first birthday in 2019, when he became lethargic, wouldn’t stop vomiting and lost his appetite.
But even after three major brain surgeries, 13 months of chemotherapy and two months of proton beam therapy, the tumor continues to grow.
After a CT scan revealed Lucas had a grade 3 anaplastic ependymoma, he was transferred to the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, Edinburgh, where he underwent a 10-hour operation to remove the tumour, which was successful.
Lucas’s parents thought he just had a stomach bug because he was vomiting, lethargic, and had lost his appetite.
Just ten days after his first birthday, Lucas Garcia-Batalla was diagnosed with grade 3 anaplastic ependymoma, a fast-growing malignant tumour. His diagnosis came as a “shock” to his parents, David Garcia Jurado, 42, and Laura Batalla, 38, from Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire (pictured).
Mr Garcia Jurado said: ‘Just before his first birthday Lucas was ill.
‘He didn’t have much of an appetite but we thought it was a stomach bug.
‘I kept vomiting, I was lethargic and it all happened very quickly, it wasn’t a slow progression.
‘A few days later, a CT scan revealed a huge tumor on the back of his head, as big as a tennis ball.
“It was a very dark time for me. I still have in my mind the image of my wife holding Lucas and them telling us that he had a brain tumor.”
After a CT scan revealed Lucas had a grade 3 anaplastic ependymoma, he was transferred to the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh where he underwent 10 hours of surgery to remove the tumour, which was successful.
Despite Lucas’ successful surgery, three months after finishing his chemotherapy he relapsed in September 2020.
Mr Garcia Jurado said: ‘His first surgery was just two days after his diagnosis.
‘They managed to remove everything, it was a successful surgery.
‘Lucas then received chemotherapy for 13 months, after which an MRI came back positive: he was fine.’
Ependymomas are It is the most common childhood brain tumour and the average age of diagnosis is five years, according to the Brain Tumour Charity.
Around 30 children are diagnosed with ependymoma each year in the UK.
Grade 3 ependymomas (anaplastic ependymomas) grow rapidly and commonly in the hindbrain, the area of the brain that controls balance, movement, breathing, and blood pressure.
Loss of balance, clumsy movements, headaches, nausea and seizures are telltale signs.
Despite Lucas’ successful surgery, three months after finishing his chemotherapy he relapsed in September 2020.
He underwent further surgery and was transferred to Christie Hospital in Manchester, where he received two months of proton beam therapy, a type of radiotherapy.
Mr García Jurado said: ‘We had hope for a year and then in December 2021 he relapsed again.
‘He underwent palliative surgery in March 2022 to remove the tumor, again, and it was successful.
‘After that, in January 2023, he underwent experimental Gamma Knife surgery, a type of radiation therapy treatment.
“This is the first time that something like this has been done to a four-year-old child to stop or delay growth for any length of time.”
Unfortunately, in June 2023, an MRI revealed that the tumor is continuing to grow.
Mr. García Jurado said there are no more treatment options for Lucas and that his goal is to give him the best life possible.
Sadly, in June 2023, an MRI revealed that the tumor was still growing. But now his parents are focused on giving Lucas a “normal life.”
He said: ‘There are no more options for him, how many times can they open his head and operate?
‘In his entire journey the most important thing is to keep him alive but the side effects are really hard.
‘Lucas is blind in his right eye and deaf in his left ear.
“It’s a miracle that he was able to go to school. He has a great sense of humor, it’s amazing.”
“You wouldn’t believe what he’s been through.”
The father fears that the tumor is simply a “ticking time bomb” and that Lucas only has one year to live.
But she is learning to “live with uncertainty” and focusing on “enjoying the moment” and giving Lucas a “normal life.”
Catherine Fraher, director of services and digital health at The Brain Tumour Charity, said: ‘We are really grateful to everyone who shares their often heartbreaking story to raise awareness of brain tumours.
We know that each family faces the diagnosis of a brain tumor and its consequences in their own way.
“That’s why The Brain Tumour Charity offers support to anyone who needs it. It’s so important that they know they’re not alone.”
