Megan homeward bound following successful treatment

THE parents of Megan Malone, the little girl who has beaten all the odds in her battle against a rare form of cancer, are planning to bring the tot back home in September.
John Malone, from Ballyalla moved his family to New York after Megan was diagnosed with a rare cancerous brain tumour called sPNET medullablastoma. After receiving life-saving treatment in New York’s Presbyterian Children’s Hospital, Megan and the rest of the family moved to Boston in July for radiation treatment.
Following the success of her treatment, the Malone family are now preparing to move back to their family home in Cork.
John said this week, “Megan is going from strength to strength. She has even starting running now. She gets physiotherapy once a week now and that seems to be helping her a lot.”
Megan is scheduled to finish her treatment at the end of August and the family hope to fly home in early September.
“We have booked our return flight home to Ireland and we should be landing in Cork Airport on the morning of September 3. We are awfully excited about that, after nine months of being in the US,” said John.
Megan was diagnosed with the rare form of cancer back in October of last year and she was given just a 20% chance of survival. After researching the condition, the family made contact with doctors in New York who were confident they could help her and the decision was made to move to America. Megan’s parents, John and Sheila, along with brothers, Dylan and baby Tristan and sister, Chloe, made the move to the US after extensive fundraising in Clare and Cork. A donation from a mystery benefactor was made to cover Megan’s medical costs.
When she was first diagnosed, it was thought she would need to spend up to two years in New York receiving treatment, however, Megan’s response to her treatment has astonished doctors. Last month, the family told how MRI scans had shown that she is clear of cancer. The radiation therapy Megan is receiving in Boston Massachusetts General Hospital is treating any microscopic cancer cells present. Doctors have recommended that following her treatment, Megan will return to MGH every year for a full check-up.