Baby Undergoes Chemotherapy After Doctors Discover Large Brain Tumour

Four-month-old Declan was diagnosed with Choroid Plexus Papilloma after a 4cm tumour was discovered in his head. Photo / Give a Little

A 16-week-old baby boy is receiving chemotherapy after doctors found a 4cm tumour in his brain, prompting his family to launch a Givealittle page to help support them through the sudden medical crisis.

Baby Declan was taken to Palmerston North Hospital on October 30 after a family friend noticed his fontanelle appeared unusually enlarged. His mother, Emma McComb, said doctors were alarmed by the rapid growth of his head — around 3cm in just a few days — and referred him to Wellington Hospital for urgent scans.

An ultrasound first revealed excess fluid around the baby’s brain. An MRI later that night confirmed the presence of a tumour measuring roughly 4cm by 4cm.

McComb said specialists told her the diagnosis was Choroid Plexus Papilloma, a rare tumour that forms in the ventricles of the brain and can cause overproduction of cerebrospinal fluid.

Declan was airlifted to Starship Hospital in Auckland during the first weekend of November, where surgeons inserted a shunt to relieve pressure on his brain. After assessing the tumour, doctors decided he should begin a five-day course of chemotherapy in the hope of shrinking it enough for safe removal.

“He’s had his first round of chemo, and he needs to stay at Starship so they can monitor him for any side effects,” McComb said. “I feel numb. Going home and seeing his empty bassinet breaks me.”

She said watching her son undergo constant tests and needles had been devastating. “He’s like a pincushion. He hasn’t even started his life yet.”

Despite everything, Declan remains cheerful and calm, she said. “He never really cried — he’d just moan or whinge. He still smiles at his little TV shows. The nurses at Starship all adore him.”

McComb urged other new parents to pay close attention to changes in their babies’ fontanelles and get anything unusual checked quickly.

“When you’re with your baby every day, you can miss small changes. Someone else might notice what you don’t,” she said. “There’s no harm in getting it checked by your GP or Plunket nurse.”

Give A Little:
https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/help-baby-declans-long-journey-ahead