Elena Desserich was only five years old when the doctors gave her only 135 days to live.
Elena was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG), a rare and lethal form of inoperable brain cancer.
The tumors that form are found in the part of the brain called the pons, according to the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s website.
The pons controls your heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing. There is no safe way to remove the tumors because of the risk of severe damage to the pons.
The current treatment is with radiation therapy or an experimental chemotherapy and radiation combination.
