7-year-old Orange County girl dies after monthslong battle with rare brain cancer

ORANGE, Calif. (KABC) -- A 7-year-old from Orange has died months after she was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer.

In January, doctors at Children's Hospital Orange County diagnosed Sarah Valdivia with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma or DIPG. There is no cure.
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The tumor was inoperable and usually occurs in kids between the ages of four to 11, affecting movement as it wraps itself around the brainstem. Sarah was one of only a few hundred children a year in the U.S. who get that diagnosis.

Her family had hoped a clinical trial at Stanford would help with the tumor.



Sarah's mother, Joana, posted on Instagram that her daughter lost her battle against cancer on Tuesday night.
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"She fought bravely for over 10 months. We are heartbroken, but she is now cancer free."