Bodie McNulty starts nursery after beating brain cancer

Bodie McNulty, a toddler from Milnrow, has now started nursery after overcoming a brain tumour.

The little girl, three, who underwent lifesaving proton beam therapy in Germany last year, attended her first day at nursery on Wednesday 13 November.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/125460/milnrow-family-reveal-young-daughters-brain-tumour-is-now-stable-after-treatment

Her parents, Lauren Thornton and Kevin McNulty, have since received the good news that Bodie’s latest scan was stable, meaning Bodie has now had stable scans for the past 17 months.

The wonderful news comes on Lauren’s birthday, after Bodie’s latest scan earlier this month.

Speaking on Monday (18 November), Lauren said: “We’ve just left The Christie and had more brilliant news that Bodie’s latest scan was stable again. She’s now had stable scans for the last 17 months.

“Bodie has been doing absolutely great. We were extremely anxious about Bodie starting nursery due to her history, but she has been super confident and loved every minute of it.”

Bodie was initially diagnosed with a brain tumour shortly after Christmas 2016 when she was just 10 months old, after displaying symptoms of sickness and constant tiredness. This rapidly progressed into losing the ability to crawl, sit up or even support her own head. 

The brave little girl underwent her first surgery on New Year’s Eve 2016 to relieve pressure in her skull, before a further operation just four days later to remove as much as the tumour as possible.

After the extensive operations, only half of the tumour could be removed.

Just weeks later, Bodie was diagnosed with a Grade Three Anaplastic Posterior Fossa Ependymoma, the third most common type of childhood brain tumour.

After further surgery, a small inoperable amount of the tumour was left behind in her brainstem, which was treated using proton beam therapy, which avoids targeting healthy brain tissue, unlike photon radiotherapy.

In total, Bodie underwent 13 surgeries, 12 months of chemotherapy and 30 doses of proton beam therapy to treat the tumour.

She is currently undergoing regular scans every four months.