Thursday, August 12, 2010
Walking tall, the 6-year-old girl whose cancer was cured in three hours
Recovering: Darya Egorova had faced the threat of having her leg amputated
Diagnosed with bone cancer, Darya Egorova faced the very real threat of having a leg amputated.
Less than a year later though, the six-year-old is back on her feet and free of the disease - thanks to a revolutionary procedure that took only three hours.
She has become the first person in Britain to have a cancerous bone removed, treated with very high doses of radiotherapy and reinserted all in the same hospital.
Her family, who are from Russia, were distraught when they were told the options available in their home country for their daughter, who loves sport and dancing.
But a charity stepped in to fund the new procedure in Britain.
Last night Darya's mother Irina, 41, said: 'Given the surgical options my daughter was offered outside the UK, what surgeons have done is truly a miracle.
'We came here full of fear but we received such kindness and generosity from the British people. We are eternally grateful.'
Darya was able to attempt to walk with crutches only two days after the operation, and left hospital within a week. Until now, doctors have had to send bone tumours by motorbike to another hospital to be treated before putting them back.
Now, the Harley Street Clinic in London has the facilities to carry out the full operation in one place. The move shortens the procedure by at least an hour and means less risk of complications and pain.
Darya, who was diagnosed with cancer last autumn, could have had the tumour removed in Russia-but this would have meant a larger piece of bone being removed, leaving her ankle immobile.
Four inches of bone - including a two-inch tumour - was removed from the shin bone of her lower right leg. After half an hour, it was replaced without the tumour.
Over the next two years, healthy bone will grow through the dead bone and bring it back to life.
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