Mother and Toddler Suffers Cancer Together

Jakarta, It's unfortunate fate of this mother and daughter. After her mother was diagnosed with cancer, now the new toddler aged 15 months also have experienced the same suffering. Both are now undergoing treatment and fought together against cancer.
Kezia Fitzgerald (28 years) and his daughter Saoirse 15-month-old has a lot in common. Both were blond and blue-eyed bright, easy laugh and always share the love. Unfortunately, the two women's bodies are equally riddled cancer.
"It's frustrating. It's not fair. At the same time, there is nothing you can do to change it. The only thing you can do is heal and treat themselves," said Fitzgerald, who lives in Danvers, Massachusetts, as CNN reported on Thursday (22/09/2011).
Fitzgerald Hodgin was diagnosed with lymphoma, cancer of the lymph nodes that are part of the immune system. And five months after Fitzgerald received a diagnosis of cancer, her little daughter Saoirse was also diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a malignant tumor that develops in infants and children.
Neuroblastoma is a malignant tumor that develops in infants and children when nerve cells are immature cells turn into tumors and not the fiber. The tumor usually begins in the adrenal glands, above the kidneys and produce hormones. This is one of the most common type of cancer for infants and children, after leukemia and brain cancer.
Neuroblastoma can be formed in the chest or adjacent to the spinal cord and spread to the bone, bone marrow, liver, lymph nodes, skin and space around the eyes.
This is not the first time that cancer had attacked two family members at the same time. There have been a case of father and son who were diagnosed with prostate cancer doubles, and mothers and daughters battling breast cancer. But rarely a young mother and babies aged 1 year to share experiences and get chemotherapy hair loss together.
Fitzgerald experienced cancer began when she was pregnant. During her pregnancy in 2010, Fitzgerald saw swollen lymph nodes in his neck. He did not think much about it, because he had previously swelling during allergy season. It does not hurt, just make the neck appear uneven.
But one month after she gave birth, on the right side of neck swelling persisted Fitzgerald. Doctors later said he suffered from Hodgkin's lymphoma stage three. Malignant tumor that has spread to the neck, chest and abdomen Fitzgerald.
He thought the time was how he would look after her baby during cancer treatment. He also could not breastfeed because of Saoirse chemotherapy and PET scans use radiation.
However, one day her husband saw Saoirse not nimble as ever. Even more surprising, he had a black bruise in his eyes, like looking up a fight.
"He woke up and his eyes were swollen. Her eyelids black and blue and yellow, like he had hit his eyes," said Fitzgerald.
Saoirse too fussy and vomiting. He experienced swelling in both ears and a bulge the size of the egg on his right temple. His head looked like was going to explode.
Doctors found a tumor in the abdomen Saoirse. He was in the fourth stage of the malignant cancer called neuroblastoma. The cancer had spread so widely through the adrenal gland, bone marrow, tiny ears and entire body.
Saoirse require immediate chemotherapy. And Fitzgerald also still have to undergo cancer treatment. Saoirse receive monthly chemotherapy that can last three or four days. The hardest part for parents is to listen in trouble Saoirse.
"I want to hug him and take the pain and let him have peace. As a parent, I just have to focus and know, it's to help him better," explained Mike, the father of Saoirse.
But according to doctors, the cancer did not hinder the development of Saoirse. Saoirse has high energy and stood up to walk and communicate.
Now that surgeons have raised both adrenal glands Saoirse because of damage from cancer. But without these glands, he must take hormone replacement steroids for the rest of his life. Saoirse also will undergo a stem cell transplant using his own cells to rescue bone marrow.