Isaac’s brave brain tumour battle gets some backup

Little Isaac is the face of Queensland’s child brain tumour patients. And a new centre launching today will give them renewed hope.

ISAAC Schulz was just four months old when he was diagnosed with a large, inoperable brain tumour, devastating his first-time parents.

His proud mother Luarna says her son, who will turn three in May, “hardly ever cried” through more than a year of chemotherapy, which shrunk his tumour by half.

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“He’s a beautiful boy. He made the hard times a lot easier to get through,” the 29-year-old said.

Although the tumour – a juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma – has stopped growing, Ms Schulz says Isaac’s future is uncertain.

He is one of about 60 children diagnosed with brain tumours at the Queensland Children’s Hospital each year.

isaac Schulz, who turns three in May, was just four months old when he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour. His Mum Luarna says he’s always full of smiles despite his ordeal. Picture: Claudia Baxter/AAP

Today a virtual Centre for Child and Adolescent Brain Cancer Research – the first of its kind in Australia – will be launched in Brisbane, bringing together the best minds in the field in Queensland to improve treatments and outcomes.

One of the centre’s four directors, paediatric oncologist Tim Hassall, said it was “a bit like having a State of Origin team” working on defeating childhood brain cancer.

He said the centre would not only work on developing new treatments for brain cancer, it would also research ways to better support children and families.

For example, they plan an in-depth study into the emotional and financial costs of a brain cancer diagnosis in a family to better advocate for support services, such as more social workers and psychologists.

Ms Schulz said Isaac was still tube-fed and unable to crawl after treatment for his brain tumour. He has regular physiotherapy and speech therapy.

Isaac Schulz was diagnosed with a brain tumour at just four months old. He’ll turn three in May. Picture: Claudia Baxter/AAP

“It definitely threw out a lot of plans in terms of having more children and things like that but we’re so grateful to have Isaac with us today,” Ms Schulz said. “He’s definitely taught us a lot of strengths. He’s a very, very happy little man. He’s so strong and resilient. We couldn’t have asked for anything more with him.”

The new research centre is funded over five years with $5 million from the Children’s Hospital Foundation.

The Centre for Children and Adolescent Brain Cancer Research is a collaboration between the Queensland Children’s Hospital, the University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute and QUT. To donate, go to childrens.org.au

Originally published as Isaac’s brave brain tumour battle gets some backup