Winner's Warriors called upon again in second cancer fight

Ava Winner, 12, is battling brain cancer for the second time. She was first diagnosed at age 9 in 2019 and was declared cancer free in April 2020. Tests revealed its return in October. Ava is starting a clinical trial in Augusta, Georgia.

WARSAW — A local child who beat cancer once is battling the disease again with the support of family and the community.

Ava Winner was diagnosed at the age of 9, in January 2019, with medulloblastoma, a cancerous brain tumor in her cerebellum that was against her brain stem.

The daughter of Dan and Melissa Winner, she had three surgeries at Akron Children’s Hospital, followed by chemotherapy treatments, then speech, physical and occupational therapies.

An MRI scan in April 2020 at Akron Children’s Hospital revealed Ava to be cancer-free. Then, a few weeks ago, things changed.

Now 12 and in seventh grade at River View Junior High School, Ava had an MRI as part of a regular checkup on Oct. 5. It showed a spot that wasn't there before and shouldn't have been there, and not in the area of the original tumor.

Five days later she had a seizure, and the following day she was in surgery again. She was released from the hopsital on Oct. 13, and a week later tests confirmed the cancer has returned.

Ava's aunt, Amanda Meiser, is keeping the public updated on Ava's new fight via the Winner's Warriors Facebook page. Meiser said the community has been great in supporting Ava once again with cards and posts of support, and contributing to a T-shirt fundraiser.

"We continue to be overwhelmed at the outpouring of love from our family, friends, community and beyond. We are grateful to our employers and the kids’ teachers for their continued understanding that family has to be first right now," Meiser wrote to the community on the page. "We appreciate the prayers, cards, gifts, donations and well wishes. #teamavamae has never been stronger and we find ourselves at a loss for words when we try to express the level of thanks we have for your support."

Ava Winner in bed at Akron Children's Hospital following a surgery for testing on a spot found on her brain. Ava was first diagnosed with cancer at age 9 in 2019. She was declared cancer free in April 2020, but it returned this past October.

Along with reconnecting with the teams that helped her battle the cancer the first time at Cincinnati and Akron children's hospitals, Ava is also part of a medulloblastoma clinical trial in Augusta, Georgia. It involves concurrent regimens of chemotherapy and immunotherapy. She left a few dats agi and will be in Georgia for about a month.

"After the initial treatment period, Ava will return monthly to Georgia. As you can imagine, this has been a bit overwhelming for everyone involved. The goal of the therapy is to affect the remaining areas of her tumor by using her natural immune system to attack the tumor cells in an effort to contain them," Meiser explained on the Facebook page.

Anyone wishing to send a card of support to Ava Winner can mail it to P.O. Box 1156, Coshocton, OH 43812. Donations can be made through GoFundMe or in the name of Dan or Melissa Winner at Park National Bank, 229 N. Third St. Coshocton, 43812.

llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com

@llhayhurst

740-295-3417

This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Winner's Warriors called upon again in second cancer fight