I adored Lucy and her mother the moment I met them. There is just something special about the Littlefield family. Lucy was diagnosed with Stage 4s, low risk neuroblastoma, when she was just 10 weeks old.
10 weeks.
She underwent two rounds of chemotherapy, with the possibility there would be more. Three weeks after the second round, the tumors shrank--enough not to have to proceed with a third round. Six weeks later Lucy went in for a follow up MRI and MIBG and the results showed No Evidence of Disease (NED).
Lucy is now 3 and cancer free. Her mother Kristen and entire family remained dedicated to the fight for all children battling cancer. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month and it is the anniversary of Lucy's clear scans. Here is Kristen's story:
September means more than just the end of summer and back-to-school for cancer moms, it means we fight a little harder for our warriors, our children, our cancer friends children and the children that will be diagnosed.
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month! It's our month and we feel we owe it to our children to spread the word more than ever!
But September isn't just about spreading childhood cancer awareness and the facts of what cancer does to our children for our personal family. September is the month that Lucy's doctors gave us back her life, our family's life. As I sat in the tiny little clinic room at CHOP on September 14, 2009 trying to keep Lucy happy I never expected to hear what I was about to hear. Lu's doctor pulled up the report from her MRI & MIBG that she just went under and said there's No Evidence of Disease. It literally took the 10 minutes, while he stepped out, to really comprehend what he had said; having a young child with you in a doctors office for hours on end didn't help my thinking situation either.
As soon as he walked in I said "So you are saying there's no cancer, it's all gone?!" and his reply was "yes!". I never expected to get that news as I got ready to head into clinic with Lu that day, it was maybe 6 weeks since her previous scan that showed there was just less than 50% of the cancer still in her since her last chemotherapy. If I knew our prayers were going to be answered, miracles granted and medicine working beyond our belief I would have brought the entire family with us to hear the great news!
It was a refreshing feeling to send out a mass text full of good news, great & amazing news instead of depressing news. And yet as this day is full of joy it also brings sadness. I hate that my child had to endure such pain and be pumped with medicine that can cause ridiculous side effects like more cancer, what the f is that?! And as a mom I've always wondered what did I do wrong during pregnancy, since Lu was diagnosed only 10 weeks after birth.
And then there are times that I almost feel bad because Lucy didn't go through half of what a number children go through, not that I wish any more pain upon her than she had to endure. Isn't that crazy to feel bad that my child didn't suffer like other kids have to suffer??!! Lu got the easy road compared to others, thank God! But whether your child is on the easy road or the long road all of our journeys started out with that sickening, lump in your throat feeling with morbid thoughts running through mind of "will my child die" as we all listened to the doctors tell us "your child has cancer". Those are words that no parent ever prepares themselves to hear one day, but should they?
Children get cancer, it's clearly a fact and it's a disease that's way underfunded for our children! We need to get real and spread the awareness. It's time to put on our gold, be bold ;) and tell people that children get cancer too! We fought (and still fight) for Lucy, she's our THREE YEAR SURVIVOR!
Now we pay it forward and fight for more than just her, we fight for all the other little heroes still fighting, for the children that will be diagnosed tomorrow and sadly for those that will die today.
September is a month about spreading awareness and also about a celebration of life for our family!
Lucy and her family raise funds for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation all year round. This
Saturday, September 15, catch Lucy at Gymboree in Cherry Hill from 9am-2pm.
You can also donate to Team Little Lucy for the Lemon Run, here.
Go Gold all month long. Share Lucy's story.
Tweet:
Go Gold for Little Lucy, 3-years cancer free this month! http://2yoke.blogspot.com/2012/09/go-gold-for-little-lucy.html #childhoodcancer #CCAM @Alexslemonade @trinitasyoga
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