Ellerie Pauro

In June 2020, when she was just 3 years old, Ellerie began experiencing episodes of vomiting and complained of her head hurting. A visit to the doctor led to the diagnosis of Stage IV Brain Cancer, or more specifically, Embryonal tumor with multilayer rosettes (ETMR), a rare and highly aggressive pediatric brain tumor.

Ellerie’s fight really began that July after her amazing neurosurgeons were able to fully resect the entire tumor after its emergency discovery on June 16, 2020. Recovery was just the beginning. She suffered a stroke and lost strength on her left side. She had an anaphylactic reaction to one of her chemotherapy drugs.

While no standard treatment strategy exists for ETMR because of their rarity, Ellerie completed two rounds of induction chemotherapy, three high dose chemotherapy with stem cell transplants, 30 rounds of radiation, and 12 months of maintenance chemotherapy which included chemo in her spine and oral chemotherapy.

Ellerie finished treatment in February 2022 and is now in remission. She continues to have MRIs every three months on her brain and spine and had her port removed June 12, 2023.

Today, this happy 6- year-old finds joy scootering, going to the beach and running with her family. They are thankful for the warmth extended to them by the childhood cancer community.