With World Cancer Day this Saturday, we dedicate this post to those patients facing a cancer diagnosis. As with any serious disease, the many types of cancer put a great deal of stress on the body and can make a person more susceptible to infection. Unique to cancer, however, are the infection risks due to the disease's treatment. Today we will explore how cancer and infection intersect in this special population.
We Only Have One Chance: One Mom's Battle Against Cancer and Infection (Part 2)
by Erica Mitchell | September 18 2019
Our earlier post gave us a glimpse into the life of a mom responding to the shocking diagnosis of cancer in her three-year-old son, Jack. This concluding segment will explore the result of her unrelenting fight against infection as she did everything possible to help her son survive, and the lasting impact that experience has had on her life the life of her son.
It was a fall evening just after Thanksgiving when Page snuggled with her son at bedtime. He had just celebrated his 3rd birthday and was feeling a little under the weather, so she was rubbing his belly while he rested, going through the list of what it could be - chicken pox? Too much dinner? A stomach bug? All those thoughts came to a screeching halt when she felt a soft lump just over her son's belly button. With a sudden mother's intuition that would prove to move mountains in the years to come, Page bundled up her child and with shaking hands, immediately drove him to the emergency department at the nearby children's hospital. Only a few hours later, the world-changing diagnosis was given: Neuroblastoma. Stage IV. Cancer.