BUFFALO, N.Y. — DaJuan Brown is 11 years old and fighting to live. A few days after his birthday he was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer called Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG).
"The tumor is intertwined in the brain stem, making it inoperable," according to his grandmother, Brenda Mangum.
"They told us there is no survival rate. It was a hard pill to swallow, knowing that there is no cure, knowing that it's a zero survival rate," said the boy's father, DaJuan Brown Sr. "You're just praying and hoping that something works, faith and hope is all we have left."
A benefit was held Sunday at Kotecki's Grandview Grove in West Seneca. Tickets were $20, and the event included food, drinks, a 50/50 raffle, door prizes and a silent auction.
As is often the case unfortunately, DaJuan's tumor is intertwined in the brain stem, making it inoperable.
"There are a number of expenses that the family has that's not covered by insurance," said Charisse Freeman, an event coordinator. "He's in chemo. He's in radiation. They've had to make a lot of adaptions for simply getting their life back to normal."
DaJuan himself was able to make a brief appearance at the event.
In addition to what was collected Sunday, a GoFundMe page called DaJuan's Fight has also raised $13,000 in pledges.
They're hoping to raise $30,000.
