Five years out...

It’s been five years since our first child, Aya, was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma - a childhood cancer caused when neuroblast cells fail to turn into nerve cells, but instead ignore signals to stop growing and form into a tumor. Aya was 16 months old when diagnosed at the Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital in Hershey, PA. Luckily, we discovered it early (stage 1) and the team of medical professionals at the children’s hospital were able to quickly schedule and successfully complete the surgery to remove the tumor which had grown off the optic nerve and was residing in Aya’s chest cavity behind the right lung.

Those first weeks after diagnosis, and through surgery and recovery were physically and emotionally intense - as we travelled back and forth between State College, PA (where we lived) and Hershey, PA for tests, procedures, and follow up visits. We balanced work as best we could: canceling attendance at a conference, as well as one job interview in KY, rescheduling another job interview in NY, and finding time between appointments and when Aya was sleeping to get work done for our jobs at Penn State (Mike) and Bucknell (me).

Post-surgery we continued to return to Hershey Children’s Hospital for follow visits with her pediatric oncologist on a quarterly basis for the first year, then every six months in the following two years, and finally once a year for the last two years. Throughout this process we’ve been supported by friends and family, but have also received a tremendous amount of support from the Four Diamonds fund as well as the Ronald McDonald House. I cannot overstate the importance of both of these organizations support for families dealing with childhood cancer.

The following is a video, featuring our family and story, put together by the Ronald McDonald House in Hershey, PA as part of their fundraising efforts.

Lastly, I wanted to share that we had our last official visit with Aya’s oncologist at Hershey Children’s Hospital in early July (2019). The chest x-ray looks great. The blood tests were also good. We’re still waiting for the results of her urinalysis - but don’t anticipate any surprises there. In some respects, it’s a bit worrying going forward without plans for regular check-ins. But, our oncologist noted that Aya’s chances of a recurrence are exceedingly rare. Additionally, he assured us that if we wanted to come back for yearly, or every other yearly, check-ins, we absolutely can.

Aya is a happy, healthy child who loves art, reading, yoga and nature. That is certainly reason to celebrate!