11-year-old Plano girl fights rare, aggressive brain cancer

It was just a few months ago, that Gloria Juarez was living life as a normal 11-year-old.

The St. Monica school fifth grader is a cheerleader, so days were filled with school and sports.

But in February, she started experiencing headaches, nausea and stomachaches. Then, one morning in March, the family’s world turned upside down.

“We went to drop her off at school, and she had an absent seizure. And so we took her to the hospital, and that Monday they told us that she had a brain tumor,” said Saile Ovalle.

Within days, doctors told the family that Gloria had cancer. And by mid-month, they had a diagnosis, Diffuse Midline Glioma.

“Ever since that day, it's just been really hard. Life changed a lot,” she said.

DMG is an aggressive form of brain cancer with no known cure.

Almost immediately, Gloria underwent surgery to remove the tumor and then 33 sessions of proton radiation.

Then on June 30, doctors told the family the tumor was back.

They sent Gloria home with just a few weeks to live.

“I was just devastated,” said Ovalle.

Still, she’s refused to accept the grim prognosis.

Ovalle is doing what she can to remain present with her daughter in these precious moments together while also working tirelessly to seek alternative treatments.

We’re still trying to find something that can help her. We tried St. Jude, and they don't have any clinical trials,” she said.

Through her research, Ovalle’s found a medication called ONC201, that’s shown some success in trials. They’ve been turned down by one close to home due to the fact Gloria’s already received radiation. She’s now working with a doctor in Germany to try to secure the drug.

She’s also hopeful to try Avastin infusions, which have been proven to starve some tumors, but the family’s in limbo waiting on approval.

Meanwhile, time moves forward.

The family has found some comfort in an overwhelming show of support from their community.

In May, Gloria received the gift of an Apostolic Blessing from Pope Francis.

An army of friends and family, that’s become known as Gloria’s Gladiators have raised more than $78,000 to help cover her treatment, most of which was not covered by insurance.

Her classmates at St. Monica’s have helped with t-shirts and lemonade sales. Restaurants and stores have donated part of their profits and loved ones as far away as Monterrey, Mexico have organized fundraisers.

“They have been supporting us every step of the way. And they have gone above and beyond to help us with everything, medical treatments, everything. It has been a blessing to have them and everybody else in our family,” said Ovalle.

Ovalle hopes sharing their story can provide information and hope to families facing a similar journey while praying that it can also lead to answers about possible treatments that can give her family more time.