The Story of Abigail Beth

Just a week after her 4th Birthday, Abigail Beth was diagnosed with a stage 3 Wilms’ Tumor, a childhood cancer of the kidney. That night her entire world crumbled into pieces. Cancer? How could that happen? Abby was just four. Kids aren’t supposed to get cancer! Abby’s mommy and daddy suffered nightmares, panic attacks, depression, and imagined what her funeral would be like.

The next day Abby had a 5 hour surgery to remove her left kidney and football size tumor. It took an epidural, a morphine drip, and two weeks in-patient to recover from surgery. After recovery she had 6 rounds of radiation before starting chemotherapy. Only five and a half months into the chemo treatment roadmap dd4A (dactinomycin, vincristine, and doxorubicin), Abby started complaining of stomach pains again. The radiologists found a new lemon sized tumor in her pelvic area which was blocking off both her colon and ureter. Later that afternoon she got a nephrostomy bag inserted into her kidney to drain her urine. She started the Relapse Wilms Tumor roadmap (stratum c) a few days later. The new roadmap called for (potentially) almost two years of chemo-therapy (cytoxan, etopiside, and carboplatin), 6 more radiation treatments, and surgery.

After the first two rounds of chemotherapy, just one month later, CT scans showed that the new tumor had disappeared. At the end of the next round of chemo, Abby had the nephrostomy bag removed, which was truly a gift from above! Thankfully, Abby did not need surgery, but again receive radiation. Back on chemo, Abby subsequently continued to struggle with low blood counts even after several dose reductions. Nearly every single person who heard the call came to donate blood and platelets for little Abby. Her oncologists soon decided that her little body could not tolerate any more chemotherapy and she was taken off treatment after 10 long months on the 2nd roadmap. Abby is now off-treatment, but will continue to get follow-up CT scans and blood tests incrementally 3-4 times/year for the next few years.

All of this ~ yet Wilms’ tumor is considered a “good” cancer to have. Even so, Abby’s relapse & her cure came with a high price. It cost her a kidney. It stole a year and a half of her childhood. She endured 64 chemo treatments, 11 days of radiation, 41 blood transfusions, 19 hospitalizations, 127 shots, and countless IV’s & finger pricks. Abby’s long-term chances of survival now stand above 50%. Meanwhile, Abby is not only a beautiful young lady ~ but indeed a fighter and a survivor. There isn’t anything that she will not overcome on her way down the road to remission!!!

But, there are so many more children who aren’t as “lucky” as Abby. As the war against childhood cancer continues to rage, Abby’s parents have become vicious advocates for research and development funding. Along with the Curesearch organization, they have supported multiple charges “up the hill” in Washington D.C. championing pediatric cancer awareness with our U.S. congressional authorities.

In the US today, approximately 46 new children will begin the battle for their lives. Tomorrow another 46, and so it continues… We must find a gentle cure for this beast that is destroying the bodies of our children and all too often taking their lives. If you’re reading this, STOP NOW. Before you go on about your life, ask yourself… “What can I do to help?

Come-on ~ Join the cause!