A mum has hailed a £2.5m donation to a new cancer research centre after her five-year-old daughter tragically died from an aggressive brain cancer in 2019. The funding is going to the same research group that Isabella Ortiz's brain was donated in her 'final gift to the world' following her tragic death.
Isabella, from Bramhall, was diagnosed with an inoperable diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) in June 2017, a very aggressive and high-grade tumour. This came after family noticed she had developed a squint in December the previous year.
She was started on an intense course of chemotherapy but ran out of treatment options on the NHS. Her mum, Assunta Trapanese, managed to raise £120,000 for a treatment trial at The Harley Street Clinic in London which managed to extend her life for some time. However, she tragically died in October 2019.
