Here you’ll get to know several children from around the world who’ve come to Monterrey, Mexico to receive a promising treatment using intra-arterial (IA) chemotherapy and immunotherapy for DIPG–diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma–an aggressive pediatric brain cancer with no known cure and a median survival time of 9 months.
For many of the children, Monterrey represents their last hope. The treatment has already extended the lives of many of the children receiving it, and their quality of life has also improved dramatically.
The cost of one year of treatment in Monterrey amounts to over $300,000—without accounting for unexpected complications and extended hospital stays. But when parents find something that can help save their child’s life, they’ll stop at nothing to provide it for them.
Kim Beauchamp is a naturopathic doctor and writer. In the fall of 2016, her cousin Jeni’s daughter Kira was diagnosed with DIPG. Since then, Kim’s become intimately involved in the DIPG community—researching, advocating for families, and spreading awareness of DIPG with the hope of stopping this devastating disease.
After spending a week with Jeni and Kira in Mexico and witnessing first hand the effects of DIPG on children, the incredible demands on their caretakers, and the profound changes that the treatment in Monterrey is making for the children receiving it, Kim reached out to photographer and pediatric cancer awareness Project 3.8 founder Robyn Ivy about going to Monterrey to chronicle these children’s journeys with DIPG together.
These are their stories. By sharing them and donating if you’re able, you can help provide these children with this potentially life-saving treatment.
Making DIPG History in Monterrey 