A teen mother who refused cancer treatments while pregnant
to protect her unborn daughter tragically passed away last week.
When Dana Scatton was 17 and pregnant, she found out she had
an inoperable brain tumor. Instead of immediately undergoing radiation
treatment to potentially prolong her life, she delayed treatment to protect her
unborn baby, whom she gave birth to in January — just days before Scatton
turned 18.
A Facebook page run by Scatton’s family shared the sad news
last Monday.
"This morning shortly before 4am, Dana left us to be
with the lord," the family announced. "We may never have the right
things to say to truly honor the amazing, smart, loving, caring, passionate,
incredibly beautiful and free spirited mother, daughter, niece, sister, cousin,
friend and independent woman Dana was every day."
Scatton, a Christian and one of nine children herself,
"inspired us all to be better than who we are and to keep God in our focus
at every moment," the post continues. "She faced the greatest fear of
all, death, and smiled back with a grin only God can instill. She fought harder
than the toughest warriors known to man and did it with grace and valor."
"We don’t know how to process all of this but we want
to thank everyone for all their prayers for Dana and our family," writes
the Scatton family.
According to Live Action, Scatton was diagnosed with diffuse
intrinsic pontine glioma, or DIPG, when she was seven months pregnant. At just
age 17, she was given three to nine months to live, the outlet noted, adding
that "90 percent of those diagnosed with DIPG die within 18 months."
"Immediate treatment may have helped her to live longer
than doctors expected, but radiation could have harmed her preborn daughter.
Therefore, she chose to wait as long as she could before beginning
treatment," Live Action reported.
Scatton’s daughter, named Aries, was born at 33 weeks via an
emergency cesarean section.
In a social media post published Wednesday, the family
thanked supporters for their prayers and messages.
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