Girl, 7, who defied doctors to beat deadly brain cancer twice cheats death a THIRD time



Maya Perrin-Skippen is battling a rare form of brain tumour

A seven-year-old girl who is the only person who have survived a rare cancer twice has cheated death for a third time.

Maya Perrin-Skippen defied doctors' grim predictions to become the only person in the UK to survive the aggressive brain tumour.

She travelled to America for specialist treatment but then caught an infection which left her in a coma.

Her father Steven, 28, said: 'It's been a traumatic week for us. I didn't realise how close we came to losing her.'

The schoolgirl from Romford, Essex, almost died when her temperature peaked at 39.2 degrees Celsius.

Her anguished parents also face a huge financial struggle because they have been unable to find a company willing to give Maya health insurance.



Medical bills, drugs, and the hospital stay have so far cost Maya's family £25,000. The hospital bed alone costs a staggering £1,000 per night.

'The bill is crazy,' Steven told his local newspaper.



'How are we expected to pay for this when the fundraising was meant to help cure Maya, not to cure an infection?

'It's out nightmare situation.'



Despite doctors fearing the worst brave Maya has fought off the infection and is preparing to start pioneering treatment to fight the cancer, called malignant Pineoblastoma.

Her mum Natasha Perrin, 27, and father Steven, who kept a bedside vigil are delighted their daughter has pulled through.



When Maya was diagnosed with the rare brain tumour in September 2006 she was only given a 50 per cent chance of surviving, but after a course of intensive chemotherapy and a seven hour biopsy the tumour disappeared.

A year later doctors discovered the cancer had returned and decided the best chance of saving Maya was to operate to remove the tumour - an operation which carried the real risk of blindness and death.

Surgeons successfully removed 95 per cent of the tumour but months later the cancer returned again and the only chance of treatment is at the specialist centre in Texas.



Her parents raised £77,000 to fly the family to a specialist centre in Houston - the only place which will treat the schoolgirl.



Her father said: "She is due to finally start the treatment on Monday and the doctor has said he is very hopeful."



Maya's father said British doctors have told him they cannot operate on his daughter and that chemotherapy would prolong her life but not cure her.

But after trawling the internet the family found a doctor in America willing to treat her.

"Two years ago, I found the Burzynski Clinic after many hours of online searching," he said.

"I couldn't believe what I was reading. Dr Burzynski has cured many recurrent brain tumours with his pioneering Antineoplaston Therapy, which targets cancer cells without destroying normal cells.

"Tragically, this ground-breaking therapy has not been embraced by the medical authorities."

The treatment works by flooding the body with amino acid and peptides which doctors hope will attack the cancer but leave healthy tissue unaffected.





"Dr Burzynski's clinic is in Houston and is truly Maya's only hope. The treatment costs £50,000 per year. This is such a small amount of money to save a life. But is such a vast sum compared to my family's means.

"I am certain it will cure my little angel of the cancer that has taken her over."



To find out more visit http://www.mayaperrinskippen.com/

