10-Year-Old Gianna Heads to NYC for Experimental Cancer Trial After Osteosarcoma Relapse
Updated
Updated · WJXT News4JAX · May 30
10-Year-Old Gianna Heads to NYC for Experimental Cancer Trial After Osteosarcoma Relapse
1 articles · Updated · WJXT News4JAX · May 30
Memorial Sloan Kettering in Manhattan has accepted 10-year-old Jacksonville patient Gianna into an experimental trial after her osteosarcoma returned nearly a year after doctors said she was cancer-free.
Recent scans found two nodules in her lungs, and shoulder pain the next day led to the discovery that the cancer had reappeared in a different bone.
Gianna was diagnosed in November 2024 and later had her right leg amputated during treatment before entering remission last summer.
Her mother said there is no standard treatment for relapse and the family had to search for a trial on its own; the initial New York visit is expected to cost at least $7,000.
The case underscores the uncertainty families face after pediatric cancer recurrence, even as Gianna recently finished 5th grade and remains upbeat about going to New York.
After 30 years of stagnant treatments, could this experimental trial finally change the prognosis for childhood bone cancer?
As a family faces a $7,000 upfront cost, what is the true price of hope in experimental cancer trials?