Aria Hodgkiss: Hope for Wrexham girl, 3, in fight against brain tumour

Aria Hodgkiss, from Rhostyllen, has a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) tumour in her brain stem - diagnosed on the day of her third birthday.

She has been receiving radiotherapy treatment but, tragically, life-expectancy for this form of cancer is between just nine and 18 months.

Aria with a cake kindly made for her by Wrexham-based Lucy Bakes.

However, her family is encouraged by a new cancer drug which could extend Aria's life by years.

The ONC201 drug is believed to kill cancerous cells while preserving healthy ones and offers hope for brave little Aria and her family.

The drug is not available on the NHS and has to be imported from Germany - meaning the family is fundraising to be able to afford to keep buying it.

And Aria's family has now received its first batch of the medication.

Aria's mum, Mel, said: "She takes one tablet a week at the moment and we have enough for three months.

"She's having an MRI scan done on September 24 which will show us what the tumour is doing.

"So we will need to speak to the doctor in Germany again to see what the next step is based on the results of the MRI scan."

Aria in her toy car bought for her by the Indee Rose Trust charity.

Aria is currently taking a lower dose of the medication, but further down the line will need to take a higher dose - which will cost up to 1000 euros a week.

So far, over £5,000 has been raised on a GoFundMe page. To donate to it, click here. 

On Friday, Aria had an operation at Alder Hey Children's Hospital to remove the central line - a long, thin hollow tube inserted into a vein in the chest for cancer treatment, as it's been causing her severe pain.

In recent weeks, Aria has started walking again having not been able to for several months.

Mel said: "She stopped walking in January due to the cancer pressing down on her spinal cord.

"The growth must be shrinking now due to her now been able to start walking again."