Brilliant news…
An Irish teenager is now cancer free after spending 18 months in the US receiving intensive treatment.
In an emotional Facebook post, 19-year-old Shauntelle Tynan from Carlow, revealed the good news and stated that she now truly has “a chance at life.”
She was diagnosed with multi-system Langheran’s cell histiocytosis in May 2015 and moved to Houston, Texas with her family to receive life-saving treatment from one of the very few doctors who specialise in its treatment.
Shauntelle said in a post on Facebook on Friday morning that she was told on Tuesday that she is cancer free.
The teenager told her online followers last year that she had been advised that her prognosis wasn’t good unless she underwent the treatment in the US.
On the back of a fundraising campaign that initially had a target €500,000, but swelled massively and ended up raising over €700,000, she underwent the pioneering treatment in Texas.
You can read her post in full below…
“So last night we got to get out and crack a bottle of two of champagne! The news we have waited so long to hear has come! Shan is CANCER FREE! Technically she is NAD (no active disease) This is the day we have dreamed about and anticipated for so long! Shan will have ongoing issues and she will remain on oral chemo as maintenance for the next 12-18 months, we have secured the best possible medical care for her in Ireland upon our return. She will travel back & forth to Texas 3-6 monthly initially & yearly for the rest of her life. Our hope is that maintenance dosage of chemo and her port removal will take place over the next 6-7 weeks! Shan will get on that plane home October 18th! We are beyond grateful for everything you have all done to get us this far, something we could’ve only dreamed of before, you all made happen! We are still in great shock to finally hear this news, but happier than we have ever been.”
“Hi guys, this part is from Shan –
I just wanted to say a humungous thank you to everyone who followed my journey, liked the page, shared my posts, donated & for everyone who helped get my story out there! Thank you to all of the news outlets, radio stations and television interviews which helped us so much! There are way too many people to name personally, but a very special thank you also goes to our committee, who continuously brought ideas to the table to help in fundraisers and making our life that bit less stressful in trying to contain such a huge campaign! Thank you so so much to the Gavin Glynn Foundation, who didn’t just give financial support but emotional support too. They gave us advice on absolutely everything and we could’ve never been as prepared as we were without them! They are family now and a true blessing to our lives! This post would not be done without giving the final and biggest thanks to my mother who was unstoppable since my diagnosis and the biggest thanks to also Dr. McClain, he did everything to keep this journey as comfortable as possible, he is the best doctor ever and the support I have received from him, Mark Wallace (president of Texas Children’s) his wife, all the staff & nurses especially Chelsey & Lisette have went above and beyond to make this stay in Texas that little bit better! ““We are so lost for words right now but wanted you all to know that my journey of active cancer has come to a close and we hope it remains that way! The future obstacles I will face will be worth everything I’ve been through. Now I truly have a chance at life and will keep you all updated to how I grow in the future. Next stop is ringing that bell I’ve watched so many kids ring when they got to cancer free, something we never thought I’d do! I’m sure you’re all going to hear it from Ireland, I’ll keep you all updated over the next few weeks with everything going on, but for now, I will finish this post here and also include a short video below of this long journey.”
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