Layla Richards was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive type of Leukemia, after series of
chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant, she suffered a recurrence of the disease. But thankfully the British baby is now recovering after a world first treatment for cancer. The doctors had initially given up on her case, telling her parents to prepare for the worst but her parents refused to give up on her. So the doctors at London's Great Ormond Street Hospital got permission to give Layla a treatment so experimental that it has only been tested on mice.
Thanks to an infussion of 50 millions of cells that is genetically engineered to hunt and kill the cancer, the disease has vanished and she is a happy energetic and bubbly toddler. Her miracle recovery paves way for a revolution in the treatment of cancer.
Professor Wassem Qasim, one of the doctors who treated Layla said: "We have only used this treatment on one strong girl, we don't know if it will be suitable for all children.
This is a new revolution for us in the use of new gene engineering and the effects in this child have been nothing short of a miracle. If replicated, it could represent a huge step forward in treating leukemia and cancer. It could help adults with cancer and lead to ground breaking new therapies for Cystic fibrosis and other genetic conditions."
Layla who lives in north London with her parents Ashleigh Richards and Lisa Foley, was a happy and healthy baby when she was born in June 2014, but after three months she became ill. Doctors suspected a tummy bug but a blood test revealed she had acute Lymphoblastic leukemia, a type of cancer that fights the white blood cells and particularly hard to treat in babies.
More pics of Layla and her family after the cut.
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