Olivia will always laugh at her big brother. I swear she is an old soul. She has loved just looking at the wind blow the leaves. Such a soft and gentle side yet she can be climbing and getting in trouble the next.
Olivia was diagnosed with germ cell tumor in December of last year. She started showing symptoms three days before Christmas, starting our hospital stay, and was diagnosed on December 27th. She could never sit very well straight, always kind of leaning, and had issues with bowel movements. What initially brought us in was her not voiding on her own.
She had 4 rounds of chemo as well as a major tumor removal surgery.
Scout loves being outdoors and collecting rocks, sticks, and pinecones. She’s obsessed with trains!
Scout was diagnosed with Stage 4 Germ Cell Neoplasm on August 18th of 2022. Prior to her diagnosis, she had persistent low grade fevers for weeks, extreme lethargy and painful cries when sleeping at night. She also had a distended belly, constipation, loss of appetite, was reluctant to walk, and had become very serious (usually very joyful).
Scout has had 3 central line placements, one full cycle of the 1st line of chemotherapy, and just finished one round of a 2nd line of more aggressive chemotherapy. We have to avoid germs/people when she is immunocompromised from chemo.
Scout is currently not recommended to have tumor resection, because of the morbidity of the tumor position and what would most likely be life-altering surgery (probable colostomy). This makes her case unique and challenging in the world of germ cell tumor diagnosis.
Abigail is artsy, musical, witty, friendly, and boho. She loves pillows and animals and her friends. She is considerate and deeply feeling. She has a special interest in medicine, social work, and history, especially WWII.
Abigail was diagnosed with a germ cell tumor in April of 2017, the day after her 10th birthday. She had been having stomach aches and we noticed a lump in her abdomen. Urgent care thought it was major constipation. The first emergency room diagnosed a dermoid cyst in her ovary but wasn’t sure they could help and just sent us away with instructions to find a specialist. Miraculously, we found a nationally recognized pediatric gynecologist only an hour away from our home and begged her nurse to let us come in the next day. She had surgery the day after that and had a cantaloupe-sized tumor removed with a cancerous nodule. She then had chemotherapy for six months and has had no evidence of disease since November 2017.
Abigail has had numerous surgeries, chemotherapy, and physical therapy. She has undergone neuropsychological testing and requires an independent education plan at school. She also has sleep and temperature regulation issues.
Our home life has been altered dramatically. After years of struggling to pay off bills— getting extra employment, downsizing, then moving across the country for a better quality of life and cost of living—we feel like our family is much closer and stronger than before. We prioritize our relationships more than before.
Harshit was diagnosed with a combination of rare cancers on November 4th, 2018. He has undergone a very aggressive treatment which includes many chemotherapy cycles, major thoracic surgery, and a bone marrow transplant for which he had to stay in the hospital off and on for over a year.
Harshit had a low-grade fever, coughing, and facial swelling for over three months which was misdiagnosed as allergies and viral infection. We took him for a chest x-ray in urgent care where they saw a huge (8” by 8” by 3”) tumor in his mediastinum covering almost all of his right lung. The tumor was cancerous and was diagnosed as a mixed non-seminomatous germ cell tumor. It was later found that along with this he also has Leukemia ( AML M7 ). After his tumor was taken out it was found that he also had a third malignancy, Rhabdomyosarcoma.
He has undergone many chemotherapy cycles, major thoracic surgery, and a bone marrow transplant. He is not undergoing treatment right now but has frequent visits to the hospital for tests and scans.
Harshit’s diagnosis has changed our life. We were living in the hospital with him for many months because he was extremely sick. My daughter was his bone marrow donor ( she was 14 then). Since we have no family in the USA, things have been difficult.
Harshit has some long-term side effects from his disease and treatment but we are grateful that he is cancer-free now and life is moving towards normal (new normal). He has a very positive attitude which has been the driving force for his miraculous recovery.
Catherine was having headaches, stomach aches, vomiting, and acting out of character. She was always tired and didn’t want to do schoolwork. I thought it was her being rebellious which wasn’t like her. I took her to the doctor and did blood work, but nothing was really abnormal but her thyroid was a little low. The doctor wasn’t too concerned. Her symptoms kept happening, and we went back to the doctor. He suggested counseling.
Finally, in March she had such a bad headache and her heart was beating so fast she wound up in the ER, but again nothing showed up in her blood work. She finally had an MRI in May and that told us she had two tumors on her pituitary gland.
Catherine has had a port placed, seven cycles of chemotherapy, g-tube placed, and two central lines placed (one for harvesting stem cells and the other to put them back.) She is currently getting radiation. She has been hospitalized a few times for chemo treatments and had prolonged stays for complications. She’s had MRIs, CT scans, echocardiograms, x-rays, lumbar punctures, and more.
I had to resign from my job in July. It became a lot with the back and forth and hospital stays. I have three daughters and with me staying at the hospital, my other two daughters get upset. It’s a lot on families emotionally and financially. It’s draining.
Catherine has taken everything she has been dealt with and fought so hard. She continues to be brave and face this diagnosis head-on.
Emma is super sassy, a crazy goof ball, and absolutely wonderful. Tickles make her laugh, funny faces. She loves Mickey and all things frozen, Moana or anything Disney really. She loves music especially nursery rhymes and Disney songs. Bubbles is one of her favorite things and puppies! She’s a huge animal fan.
Emma was diagnosed on February of 2018 with Wills Tumor. Emma was completely normal with no symptoms of any kind. The only thing that was noticeable was that her tummy was more pudgy and stuck out. Other than that she didn’t have fevers nor any change in appetite or character.
She went through surgery just two days after we found out that she had a tumor in her right kidney. Then she under went 19 weeks of chemotherapy. Just in general it was hard to see our sweet toddler go through so much pain and exhaustion.
Cancer has changed us. We appreciate more, love more and laugh more. We value time together even more. We take time to do things, living in the now and being hopeful for the future.
Emma is the strongest person I’ve ever met, through everything she’s maintained a smile on her face and a positive attitude. People that meet her can’t even tell she was sick of exhausted because of treatment. She is full of life and energy!
