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Kids & Family

Meet Three of Forsyth County's Tough Kids

September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

Meet Cumming residents Kayla Rodriguez, 5, Hannah Shaver, 12, and Kristen Sorrell, 9, three young girls featured with many other children on the CURE Childhood Cancer website during September, which is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

The website is highlighting the journeys of the brave children who fight this monster of a disease every day. Read their stories of diagnosis, treatment and courage.

The campaign, called "CURE's Kids Conquer Cancer One Day at a Time," has a goal of raising $275,000 for CURE, a local non-profit that supports childhood cancer research and patient and family services. With CURE's help, each family participating will attempt to raise a minimum of $1,000.

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“CURE’s Kids Conquer Cancer One Day at a Time” is an initiative aimed at the goals of educating and empowering.

Below are the stories of Kayla, Hannah and Kristen Sorrell shared on the CURE website.

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Kayla Rodriguez is in kindergarten at Covenant Christian Academy – this is her story.

In May 2010, we were faced with the dreaded “C” word when we found out that our daughter, Kayla, had cancer. It all started out with her three-year wellness exam, which led to the discovery of a large mass in her abdomen, estimated at the time to be around 10cm. She was immediately scheduled for a CT-scan where it was confirmed that she did have a mass in her abdomen stemming from her left ovary. In meeting with her oncologist, we were told it was most likely either a germ cell tumor or a stromal tumor, both considered to be rare tumors for children. If it was a germ cell tumor, she would have to start chemo after surgery. If it was the stromal tumor, treatment would be unknown until after the surgery. 

We met with the surgeon and after examining her he told us his goal would be to remove the tumor in one piece with a vertical incision down the center of her stomach. He would also being removing her ovary since the tumor was stemming from there. He explained that until the tumor was sent to pathology, we wouldn’t know what kind of cells were in the tumor and what her treatment would be after.  Her surgery was on May 28, 2010. They successfully removed her tumor in one piece and her left ovary and they didn’t see any cancer in the surrounding area. The tumor weighed 2 lbs. and measured 15 cm x 13 cm x 9 cm. Kayla spent three days in the hospital and we anxiously waited to hear the pathology results.

Kayla’s tumor turned out to be a stromal tumor and the flush they did during surgery to determine if there were any cancer cells left in the area came back negative. Since this is the rarest type of ovarian cancer in children, there weren’t enough studies to prove that chemo was needed or beneficial for a stromal tumor, so the surgery itself was considered her "cure." As her oncologist said, “this was the best possible outcome for this situation,” which was exactly what we had prayed for. Today, Kayla is doing wonderful! She continues to get checked to make sure she remains cancer free and thankfully, all her tests have come back perfect thus far! We are so thankful that she is healthy and cancer free!

It’s hard to believe it’s been two years since we were faced with this. Although Kayla was lucky enough to not have to endure a long battle, we don’t take that for granted.  Our short journey opened our eyes to the world of childhood cancer, which has inspired us to do what we can to give back and help make a difference in the lives of those who are still fighting. It’s our hope and prayer that one day a cure is found that will free kids of this horrible disease so that they can live long, healthy lives free of extensive treatments and free of short and long term side effects. Every $5, $10, $20 makes a difference!

Hannah Shaver attends North Forsyth Middle School – this is her story.

When our precious Hannah was 4-years-old, she was a happy girl whose biggest concern was whether she should play with her Barbie or Bratz dolls. Her favorite things were playing with her big sister Nicole, her cats and dog, and her toys. 

Her world changed on March 18, 2005 when she was diagnosed with stage 4 Neuroblastoma. A doctor’s visit for leg pain showed a large solid tumor and bone disease. The plan was surgery to remove the tumor and chemotherapy to prepare her for a harvest of clean bone marrow for two stem cell transplants, along with subsequent rounds of chemotherapy - all followed by radiation and an Accutane regimen.

Within a month she had completed two rounds of intense chemotherapy. On May 5 Hannah's bone marrow was pronounced clean, and on May 17 they did the harvest. Hannah's surgery was performed in June by one of her amazing doctors at Scottish Right Children's Hospital. He was able to remove the bulk of the primary tumor. Now she was ready for her stem cell transplants.

The stem cell transplants were by far the hardest part of the treatment for Hannah. They began with seven days of high dose chemotherapy and then the transplants. The pain was so intense that a constant morphine drip was required to manage it. I cannot describe how painful it is to watch a beloved child take methadone to get over a morphine withdrawal - besides everything else she had to endure. Additionally the Bone Marrow Transplant unit is an isolation unit - Hannah couldn’t go home or see her sister for weeks at a time. 

By December Hannah had completed all her treatments, and subsequent scans showed that Hannah was cancer free! Life was normal again - family, friends, school and fun. Each day was a blessing and a gift – we felt that she had won and our nightmare was over.

Fifteen months later we learned that our precious Hannah’s Neuroblastoma had recurred. We were told she could continue chemotherapy for as long as the treatments controlled her cancer - 12 to 18 months maximum. To this day she still needs chemotherapy every fourth week. Each treatment lasts five days, but is done as outpatient therapy. We continue to look for clinical trials – new, promising (but untested) treatments that might be developed to help cure Hannah’s disease. So far we have not found a trial where the benefit outweighs the side effects.

Hannah is our little miracle - chemotherapy has kept her cancer from growing for five years. We know that one day there will be a treatment that will make Hannah cancer-free. We are so thankful to CURE for their commitment to help find a cure for children's cancer for Hannah and all like her.

Hannah wants to be a chef when she grows up; we know the right treatment will be discovered to make that possible. Her courage and spirit continue to inspire and amaze us.

Kristen Sorrell is in the fourth grade at Daves Creek Elementary School – this is her story.

Look closely at this picture. Do you see a child who was on chemo fighting cancer for 27 months? Do you see a child who missed an entire year of preschool because of a compromised immune system that would not allow her to be around other children who might be sick? Do you see a child who spent over 40 nights at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta? Do you see a little girl who was at dance class one day and admitted to the Aflac Cancer Center the next? Do you see a little sister whose 8-year-old brother asked her dad, “is she going to die daddy?” Do you see a mother’s princess who would lose every hair on her head? Do you see a little girl who battled the leading disease killer of all children in America?

The answer to every one of these questions and so many more difficult ones is YES. Even though she is beautiful to look at and completely healthy today, that is NOT the case for every child who is diagnosed with cancer. Our family has attended several funerals and shed many tears for the families who have not had the same outcome that ours has. THEY are the reason we have been doing this year after year. Please search your heart and give anything you can to stop childhood cancer. We believe that EVERY CHILD DESERVES A CURE. YOU can make that happen!!! Thank you and God bless you for your support.

You might also be interested in reading:

One Tough Lily

Taking Down A Mountain

Son Helps His Mother Fight Cancer With Healing Garden

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