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Welcome to Your Story: Please share comments, stories, poems, ideas, helpful info, etc This is your chance to have a voice on the KCN site.... We look forward to your stories of encouragement in the midst of your cancer battle. Think of this as an opportunity to cheer others on!
Privacy Note: We would like this to be a safe uplifting place for all- you may leave your email address, but do not use last names or leave other personal information. Language will be edited if not appropriate for young children.
(Note to grieving parents/families: please visit another section of our site (grieving parents)...Thank you for your discretion.)
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April 24, 2008
My name is Melanie. I first started out with my battle of Osteosarcoma cancer in 2005. It started in October (2005) when my leg started swelling up, and hurt really badly when I would get home from school. My sister had an old pair of crutches, so I used them, and my parents told me they'd take me to the doctor. But, when that day came, my mom had to cancel the appointment. Then there was another scheduled, and we went. The family doctor thought it was a pulled muscle. But she wasn't sure so she sent me to a specialist. There was x-rays taken of my left femur, and then, when we got back to the room, they called my mom out. Then I saw my dad. I overheard the doctor say, "Bad new's folks'. You're daughter's got a tumor." I didn't know what that meant, but I knew it was bad. REAL bad. We went up to the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester Minnesota, and had 14 rounds of chemotherapy altogether. I also had a limb salvage done with plates and screws. I had a allergic reaction to Methotrexate (chemo) and had a seizure and a stroke. Two Summer's after that I broke my leg. Had another surgery that replaced my plate and screws, and the breakasge was filled in because it wouldnt heal. A couple years before 2008 I went to GKTW (Give Kids the World) Village to go to Disney World, Universal Studios, AND Seaworld for Make A Wish Foundation.
I am now healthy, and just got back from the doctor with a GREAT report. I'm cancer free, and will be able to get off of my crutches in 3 months, for about a total of 4 years. :]
Melanie, age 13 IA
Osteosarcoma
monkey_butt887@hotmail.com
March 19, 2008
My nephew is Shawn and he was diagnosed with a pontine glioma on Dec. 26 2007. We went to MD Anderson in Houston for radiation and chemo. He had a wonderful oncologist and radiologist. He lost his hair, lost weight, tired, etc. but we have great news his tumor is gone for now. He got to come home on Feb 23rd. He has some neuro damage that we are going to work on with physical and occupational therapy. I just wanted to thank everyone out there who was praying for Shawn. For now all our prayers have been answered. They have told us that this tumor will return in the future, but we were supposed to have made it this far, so prayers to = miracles. Thanks again to everyone.
Love and prayers back to all who are in need.
Tandi, TX
nephew with pontine glioma
tkimmgonce@yahoo.com
November 14, 2007
My name is Brittany. About two weeks after I had just turned 9, I was admitted to Wesley Medical center because my pediatrician at home had said that I had a type of cancer called acute lymphocytic leukemia. not knowing what exactly what was happening i made the 4 hour trip in the middly of the night unwillingly along with my parents to the hospital. there i was met by my oncologist and some nurses wanting to start ivs and some medication for a series of test the following day. it was confirmed, set in stone the next day, the day before thanksgiving that i had ALL. My family and friends were notified and I started treatment right away.
I went through numerous ronds of chemo therapy, and thankfully got to go home for chirstmas but only for a few days. when i got home for chirstmas, my family wasn't ready for the sight they saw. I was swollen from the steroids the doc put me on and i had gained a lot of weight but was growing weaker by the hour. the swelling finally went down, but then i was all skin and bones weighing in at 60-70 lbs...a big difference since i went into the hospital weighing almost 100 lbs.
my life consisted of treatments, throwing up, crying, missing school, and crying. if i got to go home after treatment...i went right back to the hospital at most three days later, because i spiked a fever or had an infection. one night i reality hit me when my hair started falling out. this had to be the most devistating part of everything for me considering my hair had been long black indian hair. so my mom called my hair dresser and she cut my hair to a short bob so there would be less to fall out...i didn't go completely bald, but bald enough.
i think the most heartbreaking moment of my whole ordeal was when i almost died on mothers day. i had first been admited to the hospital because of a fever, then early the next morning i hemeraged and was put in the icu, unconcious. my grandma had taken me up there that round, so when the doctor told her to call the family because i wasn't going to make it, she did...and the next day which was mothers day, i was sitting up in bed when my mom and the rest of my family arrived.
my school had a hat day for me when i finally started going back to school at the end of 3rd grade. the superintendent of our district said that under no conditions was i to be failed, and if a teacher tried to fail me from third grade he would make sure it was changed...i made it to fourth grade but only for a little while, because there was a chicken pox out break in our school and i couldn't catch it or else.
i was hospitalized for pneumonia for three weeks, and finished chemo threapy and had one last spinal tap at the end of 5th grade...i had been in remission long enough to be cleared and just continue shots and check ups.
at the end of my 8th grade year we thought my cancer had come back but a check up and a spinal tap cleared it. then during spring break of my first year in hs we thought it was back again...but once again a blood test put me in the clear.
I thank God every day for me being alive. I thank all the nurses and my doctors for helping me get better. i still see my nurses at a camp and i see my oncologist once a year and i'm 18 years old. I'm living proof that it is possible...I am a survivor.
Brittany, KS age 18
marchingbaby_bri23@hotmail.com
Accute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL)
April 09, 2007
My name is Alanna. When I was 8 years old I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called T-Cell Lymphoma. My Pediatrician put us in touch with a special Doctor at DeVos Children's Hospital, Dr. Al. Dr. Al ordered more tests and also had us meet with the surgeon.
Just a few weeks before my appointment with the surgeon, my Daddy passed away because his heart was sick. I was really sad.
On February 23, 2004, I had surgery to remove the spot on my leg where the lymphoma was and do a bone marrow biopsy. Then he decided what treatment plan we would do.
Because cancer cells had entered my blood, Dr. Al decided to put me on Interferon. I didn't really like the pokes but I got used to them. Pretty soon I didn't even need my "magic" cream (Emla). I started taking Interferon on March 8, 2004, went into remission in July 2004 and finished my treatment on October 31, 2006.
I still have to go to see Dr. Al every other month and have scans every 3 months. So far everything has been okay and I feel good. I have to have scans again next month and see Dr. Al shortly after that.
Alanna, age 12 MI
T-cell Lymphoma
carebears9.1@juno.com
January 17, 2007
I was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphona on July 21,2006 I was 10 yrs old going on 11. It all started when my mom noticed a bump on my neck she told me that she was going to take me to the doctor I didn't want to go I was afraid but I'm glad she took me. My doctor couldn't figure out what was wrong with me she ran test but still didn't know, so she referred me to a neck specialist at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles my mom took me still he couldn't understand why I had that bump and why I had no pain. He ordered a CT Scan after the scan he ordered a biopsy (that happened on a Tuesday) he said it will take about a week to get the results so he made an appt. for the next week on Tuesday but it didn't take a week the doctor Knew by Thursday and on Friday they called my mom to tell her to bring me to the hospital that's when the doctor diagnosed me on July 21. At first I didn't understand I was afraid I cried I didn't want to have cancer but after talking to the doctor and he told me that Hodgkins disease is highly curable then I wasn't so afraid. The week after I was diagnosed I had more test done ultrasounds, pulmunary test, another biopsy (bone marrow), CT Scan, and on Monday My parents and I went to see the doctor he explained to us about the Chemo the side effects and that I was stage 1B because I had it Chest and Neck. I never had a fever or night sweats. The next day Tuesday I got a call from the hospital that I needed to be admitted so they could start the chemo. I started Chemo on August 2nd. (I only needed 4 sessions) they gave me 3 days of chemo, the next week only 1 day. We were very careful about people coming to visit me my mom didn't want me to get sick and through out that time I only went to the emergency room 2 times. Once I was sent back home the other time I had to stay overnight for observation. The next morning the doctor came in and told me I had an infection on my Picc line and that I was going to stay in the hospital for at least a week (not good) I cried because I didn't want to be in the hospital for that long and because that week was going to be my last session of Chemo. They gave me Chemo on Friday because the infection wouldn't go away so they had to give me the chemo so they could pull the picc line. My Picc Line was pulled out on Oct. 7th 2006 I cried I was so happy. Now I'm just going for follow up appt. Yesterday january 15th I had a follow up CT Scan. I'm hoping everything is good. I didn't tell you about my hair loss after the first session of Chemo I started loosing my hair. My hair was long so my aunt cut it short but still I couldn't stand that my hair kept falling out every where that I laid I left hair so I told me dad to shave it off I think it was hard for him as it was for me because me being a little girl and him having to shave off my hair I cried when I finally seen myself in the mirror I was afraid that people would laught at me but no one did. My hair is growing now I'm happy. In the beginning I didn't know that there was so many kids with cancer and I thought that I was alone but I've made friends, I go to support groups and now I know I'm not alone. And if anyone wants to be my friend please e-mail me I would love to have more friends.
This is my story
Aileen, age 11 CA
hodgkins lymphoma
aileen_rositas@yahoo.com
January 02, 2007
In 2003 my mom started having a bunch of pains in her stomach and pelvic area. SHe went in for testing and it came back that she had ovarian cancer. I was so scared. I cried so much I'm sure that if I'd had a bucket to catch my teeaers that it would have filled it up. I was in fifth grade then I just didn't believe that my mom could have cancer. I thought that cancer was only for old people. I didn't think my mom would live, she hurt so much. Finally she had surgery and her ovary was taken out. Everyone thought that it was all over, but two weeks ago on Dec.9,2006 I found out that my mom's cancer had returned. I know that with the prayers, hope, and support from all of my family that my mom will get through it. It might be a difficult road but I know in my heart that she will. I'm never going to give up hope and you shouldn't either, no matter what!!!!
Tiffanie G., GA
sniffy_1993@yahoo.com
mom has ovarian cancer
October 20, 2006
Jennie, age 16 New Zealand
jenbabe231@free.net.nz
Mother has Breast Cancer
This is my story
In 2004 my mum got diagnosed with breast cancer. I had just come back from a big holiday away from my family when I came back all was fine, then my mum started having tests done and she wouldn‚t tell me what the tests for I was 14 at the time and after she kept going back for more test I got more worried, when her results came back she told us, (me, my 2 little brothers and my little sister) that she had breast cancer. I didn‚t know what to do so I cried and cried for 3 days, in this time I couldn‚t sleep, when I couldn‚t cry anymore because my eyes hurt to much and I was extremely dehydrated, I began to go over in my head what was going to happen and to me it didn‚t look good. Mum told me she was going to have chemo and radiation therapy. I didn‚t know what this was but I went to school the next day and looked in the library. I have read lots of books but none seem to give me a clear picture in my head what was going to happen, my parents wouldn‚t explain it to me so I was pretty much stuck, everything was left down to my imagination, which was not a good thing your imagination makes everything seem worse than it really is. I was having a hard time copping at school I would start crying at random times, I had arguments with my teachers, I even walked out of my science class because my teacher was frustrating me he didn‚t understand but to me it seemed he didn‚t care, he is now one of my favourite teachers. I started going to the school counsellor once a week, so that I had some one I could talk to and trust, she didn‚t understand what I was going through but she listened and helped me understand what I was feeling, we went through lots of different emotions but a lot of the time I didn‚t feel anything, it was like there was a big hole where my emotions normally are. When I felt anything I felt frustration, I learnt through going to the counsellor that frustration is a mix of feelings so strong that it is like they are having a war inside me trying to over power each other. My came through the other end after the chemo and radiation fine her hair grew back down to her shoulders, life was almost back to normal. One year later she noticed a lump right where the other one was, the doctors said they couldn‚t do anything except slow it down using more hormone treatment; she has been doing this since then but it didn‚t seem to be doing much mum kept finding lumps all over the place but just around the area where it was at first. This year 2006 the cancer started growing really fast so they decided to give her chemo again to reduce the cancer again as the cant remove it completely. We don‚t know when mum is going to stop chemo but we think we are about half way through. Fingers crossed...That is my story so far!!!
October 03, 2006
I am a survivor of hepatoblastoma. I am nearly 7 years old and was sick when I was 18 months old. My mummy and daddy put my story on the internet for everyone to read and to take strength from.
www.users.bigpond.com/leatch
I live in Sydney, Australia and my mummy has made a few very good friends with other mums whose children have had hepatoblastoma and are doing well today. I hope you can share this to show that there is hope for us.
Regan, age 6 Australia
hepatoblastoma
leatch@bigpond.com
September 19, 2006
I was diagnosed in October 2001 with Neuroblastoma IV. I was in remission May 2005 until August this year. Now, the doctors say I have secondary AML because of treatments I received from the previous cancer. Now I am in chemotherapy and awaiting results from my parents and my younger brothers' blood test to see if they match me for bone marrow transplant soon. Keep me in your prayers and all children living with cancer.
mace age 16, SC
secondary AML
tryclemson@aol.com
It all started just before I finished the 2nd grade I had headaches, backaches and flu symptoms so my parents and doctors kept checking for different things and giving me pain pills. I would feel a little better one day than bad the next. Finally I had a high temperture so they ran blood tests and then finally told my parents it was leukemia, I had never heard of it before but I learned pretty fast because I had to start chemo the next day. So far I haven't had to spend any more time in the hospital since they put my broviac line in my chest. I hope that I will continue to get better with every chemo treatment. You can check out my website if you want to find out more about how I'm doing at:
www.caringbridge.org/visit/austinjones1
Austin, age 9 UT
Acute lymphocytic leukemia
timdjones32@yahoo.com
September 10, 2006
This is about my daughter. She was born in Oct 1982 with Acute Mylogenic Leukemia. By the time we found out what it was it had spread into her central nervous system. She was over 80% full. She is still here with us today. She has problems but no leukemia any more. Went into remission in Feb of 83 and has been there since. Keep your hopes up and your prayers going. Keep up the fight!
Kay, now 23, WI
AML
kkalscheuer2003@yahoo.com
September 02, 2006
When I was 10 I started to get sick easier and take longer to get better. I went to my pediatrician and they sent me to a new doctor who then ran hours of tests for many months. They finally had a dianosis of chronic myelomoniscic leukemia-(manly in senior cititzen men). I had a bone marrow transplant from my brother 4 years ago. I am doing very well.
Tiffany S., age 15 MI
CMML
buterfliesarefree317@msn.com
July 19, 2006
Hello. My name is Selena. I had hodgkins lymphoma. I was diagnosed December 2, 2005. I didnt think that it was possible for me, one of five kids, just so happening to be the youngest, to get cancer. But the Lord helped me through. I finished after only six months. That in itself was a miracle. I was so happy. My head had to be shaved so as to keep the drain from clogging every time I took a shower. But now all of my hair is growing in. I have about half of an inch of hair on top. The back was still bald from the radiation, but now I have some baby fuzz back there too. Just ask the Lord to help you and He will. God loves us all. All you have to do is tell Him you love Him back. That is the only reason I am still here.
~Selena~
Selena, age 14 VA
Hodgkins Lymphoma
SelenasOwnName@aol.com
May 21, 2006
Hi,my name is Suraj and I was recently was diagnosis with medulloblastoma.I had a brain tumor and it was growing.I also have a shunt and port in my body.Right now I am going for my treatment which is Radiation&Chemotherapy.And a I hope that the tumor do not come back.
Suraj , age 7 NY
medulloblastoma
narosandy@aol.com
My granddaughter, Faith just had a medullablastom tumor removed from her brain last week. Yesterday she had bilateral hip bone marrow testing, spinal tap, and a porta cath for her chemo and proton radiation. She had a dream she told her mother about the night before her surgery. She said angels were standing at the foot of her bed. One of them touched her chest and told her not to be scared. Everything would be fine. The Dr's were amazed at how well she has bounced back. He is with us at all times. We must keep the faith and all our prayers are for the other families that are going through the same thing.
Bonnie
mapletree9f90@yahoo.com
May 12, 2006
My name is Makade T. I turned 2 on November 7th, 2005. Just 9 short days later I was diagnosed as having Hepatoblastoma, a rare cancer of the liver. On Friday, November 18th I went into surgery. After an extensive period of time, the surgical team was able to remove the tumor (the size of a loaf of bread), the left lobe of my liver, 2 lymph nodes and my gallbladder. I began my first of many chemotherapy treatments on December 1st, 2005. I had my last chemotherapy treatment on February 24th, 2006. I now visit the Children's Hospital on a monthly basis for numerous scans and tests to monitor everything. As of today, I am still in remission and the cancer has not returned!
Makade, age 2 WI
Hepatoblastoma
madi_kade@yahoo.com
Brooklyn, age 9 KY
buckcincy73d@aol.com
ALL
My name is Brooklyn Faith D.and I have cancer. I have had cancer three times and I am in the hospital right now. I had to get chemo this week and so I got here Tuseday moring at 8:00. I get to go home tomorrow- I am so glad. I first got cancer when I was 3 years old in 2000. Then I got it when I was 6 in 2002. And then I got it when I was 9 in 2006- on May 1st 2006.
If you just got cancer, don't be afraid... you get sick some times but you will get better. I know how it feels- I have had cancer for 6 years and I want to get better very soon. Just do not be afraid- be very, very strong and don't give up- never give up. Talk to you soon... love, Brooklyn
May 17, 2005
I had a bone marrow transplant in November 2001 with my brother as my donor. I was pretty sick for a while because I had fungal pneumonia. I recovered from that in time and since then I have not been more seriously ill then a bad cold even with all the illnesses I have been exposed to since returning to school. While in the hospital I kept my spirits up by having a water gun fight with one of my doctors. Success is possible always I am two years in remission from a form of Leukemia not usually seen in children. I am back in school and doing well even though I missed almost a whole year of school.
Tiffany
I was abot 6 and it all started with a really bad ear ache and it turned in to a big problem. I went into the emergency room with a towel drenched in blood and no one knew what was wrong. I was sent to Vander built Hospital in Nashville TN. I was diagnosed there and was told that it was a rare type of cancer and they did not know much about it. I went through lots of surgeries and chemo therapy and radiation. I lost alot of friends that I made there and some times I wanted to give up... but I kept on fighting and pushing to stay alive and I did. So for all the kids out there with cancer: you can do it just keep on trying.
Heather , age 6 MI
Raptoemyersurcoma
billydonkey@aolonline.com
Hey, my name is elizabeth and I have a little 3 month year old daughter name stephanie. She has Leukemia and is now sick. She had it when she was born and I was terrified about it alot. My daughter is going to have surgery in a month and I am very scared. My two little 6 year old twins (veroinca and luca) are taking care of Stephanie alot and that makes me thankful that I have two kids helping me.
June 28, 2004
Hey, my name is Erica. I was 10 and I was not feeling good. It was during racing season and I was racing my jr.dragster. I like past out and crashed- and when they took me in the fould I had a type of cancer. Now I'm on all this med. I'm still able to race my jr.dragster sometimes.
Erica, age 12 TX
PennzoilGurl@aol.com
June 27, 2004
My name is Leilani. I was diagnosed with Hodgkin\'s Lymphoma on January 13 2004. I went to the doctors on 1-12-04. The doctors said my colin was inlarged .My mom & dad said I had the flu because it was going around my school. I went to the hospital on1-13-04.I had to get a cat scan & a chest x-ray. I got admited that night . I was in the hospital for 8 days before my doctors let me go home. I'm on chemo for 6 months before I'm in remission . It has been 4 months since I have started chemo.I have a port in my right upper chest. I get treated at Toledo Childrens Hospital. My docter is DR.SHORE. I'm 10 years old. That is the end of my story for now.
Leilani, age 10 OH
Hodgkin's/Lymphoma
BlueFinn790@cs.com
May 06, 2004
It was back in June of 1999. I had problems with my leg. I drove 1/4 midgit race cars and I started having problems putting full strenght on the pedals. I was losing weight. It was Neuroblastoma stage four. It was time for me to go to war. I was six years old. When I was in the hospital I had fun. But the chemo made my tummy sick. I built my own website just after I had my first round of Chemo. Since then I have built several websites. My first site I built is http://www.ussgoblin.com If you visit ussgoblin.com click the purple text and you can see my Neuroblastoma kids page i built. I also am putting up a new one it is called http://www.kidscancertree.com and I hope to have it operational in a couple of weeks. I hope to start raising money to buy toys and games and build a computer for my hospital playroom.
Raymond \"USSGobLin\", age 11, CA
Cancer Survivor- Neuroblastoma stage 4
Cole was born on September 21, 1998 and is the oldest of our 2 boys. Our youngest son, Austin (also a MACS child), developed a rare blood disorder in 1999 and we went to Duke for a bone marrow transplant in 2000. We were there 10 months and it was a grueling experience. But, we were blessed with the life of our son! Out of the 16 children on the bone marrow unit while we were there, Austin is one of 4 who survived. We left Duke in 2001 and Austin developed a post-transplant condition called hemolytic anemia. After 2 years of seclusion because he was immune suppressed, he finally began school this past fall. We've had 3 hospital admissions because of his interaction with other children, but he's had a great year. We still go to Duke every 3 months and will continue to go until this anemia problem is resolved.
In February, Cole's tonsils began to swell. We took him to pediatrics and they wrote it off as a virus and sent us home. When the tonsils only continued to increase in size, we returned to pediatrics and they gave us an antibiotic to try to combat a hidden infection. On March 5, Cole's tonsils began to bleed and we took him to the emergency room. After administering neosonephrine and a cocaine solution to his tonsils, they were able to stop the bleeding. We stayed in the hospital for that weekend. The following week his tonsils continued to swell until they met in the center of his throat. His head was already closed off and he couldn't breathe through his nose. Concerned about his airway closing off, we contacted an ENT. The ENT said 'Mono' as soon as Cole opened his mouth and we had bloodwork done. The next day, mono and epstein-barr were eliminated as possibilities. We contacted Austin's (brother) dr at Duke and she suggested we take Cole to see the hemotologist at Asheville. We got there on Tuesday and they threaded an iv (four people to hold him down and a few minutes later). Cole had a CT and a chest x-ray and then we waited for the results of the blood. The dr called us in and we left Cole with the art lady in the waiting room. The dr said, "I have news...and it's bad. It's leukemia." We were admitted and spent 2 weeks in the hospital from that moment. (I think it will be frozen in my mind for eternity.)
They placed his port 2 days later. We were concerned about his airway because of the swollen tonsils (which turned out to be clusters of leukemia cells) but everything went fine. We were fortunate that his spinal tap revealed no cancer cells in his spinal fluid, but his final diagnosis from his bone marrow revealed that he has t-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. The t-cell requires a harsher treatment regimen. We began his 30 month treatment regimen on April 3 with Cole's first dose of chemo. Cole has a 75-80% chance of cure. Now we are relying heavily on the prayers of others.
Austin & Cole's Mom, NC
Cole- age 10, ALL t-cell
bjbdmars@aol.com
April 14, 2004
When was a little over 1 I fell off a rocking chair. Several days later my mom noticed a olive size bump on my jaw (in the back). When she took my sisters to the dentist she asked him what he thought. He sent her to another doctocter who sent her to antother ect. finally she found out i had muscle cancer adn that they could cure me in 6 months... 6 months later she noticed it wasnt gone so she asked them why. They haddnt ever noticed that!! They took another biopsy and reliezed it was bone cancer so they put me on treatment for that and here I am today. I am now free of x-rays and blood tests and doctos vists for as long as I want (age 10 I was free of x-rays and this year we asked my Dr. if I needed to come anymore and she said not really.)
Cassandra, Age 14, Ia
pnt sarcoma- bone cancer
cblade01@hotmail.com
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