There are experiences that a child should never have to go through, and certainly cancer is one of them. Therefore, it is impossible not to get excited when we know stories of children who face this disease without losing their smile, and with overwhelming strength and optimism.
Such has been the case with Audrina, a small Brit who has achieved beat an aggressive neuroblastoma and he has celebrated it with a firm and imperial step, disguised as a Star Wars soldier and ringing the bell that marks the end of his treatment.
The bell of hope
Audrina is a four-year-old British girl who after eight months fighting a neuroblastoma, has finally been able to ring the bell that indicates the end of his treatment.
In Babies and more The emotional moment in which a 12-year-old girl rings the chemotherapy campaign to celebrate the end of her treatment The little girl was diagnosed in July of last year, and since then he has had to undergo four operations, five cycles of chemotherapy and 14 cycles of radiotherapy. Her initial prognosis was not good, but Audrina has managed to beat the disease.
To celebrate it, and as is tradition in some hospitals, it has rang the bell of the Nottingham Radiotherapy Center, which marks the end of its treatment. And he has done it in a very special way that symbolizes his overwhelming personality and his desire to fight: disguised as an imperial assault soldier from Star Wars, his favorite movie.
The health personnel who have treated the girl in all this time, also wanted to participate in this important act, and while Audrina proudly rang the bell, doctors and nurses waved their lightsabers with emotion.
But despite having completed the treatment successfully, Audrina must continue in close medical surveillance because the risk of relapse with this type of tumor is 50%, and if this happened, their chances of survival would drop dramatically.
For this reason, the family has launched a campaign in GoFoundMe to raise funds that allow their daughter to be taken to the United States, where a trial with DFMO is being carried out, which helps prevent relapses in high-risk patients.
Neuroblastoma, a rare but aggressive type of cancer
Neuroblastoma is a type of cancer of the sympathetic nervous system. It is uncommon, and usually only affects infants and young children.
It represents 8-10% of pediatric tumors, and is estimated to have an incidence of 1 per 7,000 newborns. 90% are diagnosed before the age of five, the average age of the diagnosis being two years.It is formed from nerve cells called "neuroblasts", which instead of becoming functional nerve cells, grow and divide uncontrollably, causing disease.
In Babies and more, World Childhood Cancer Day: a strong applause for the bravest heroes in the worldits Early diagnosis is not always easy, since the initial symptoms are very common to any other banal disease during childhood, such as fever, irritability, tiredness or loss of appetite.
The diagnosis is usually made in most cases by palpation of an unusual lump in a part of the body, usually in the abdomen, although tumors can also appear in the neck, chest or other areas.
Once the neuroblastoma is diagnosed, the type of treatment will depend on various factors, such as the child's age, the characteristics of the tumor and if the cancer has spread, factors that also determine the risk of the disease.
The prognosis of neuroblastoma is better if the cancer has not spread or if the child is less than one year old at the time of diagnosis. In contrast, high-risk neuroblastoma is more difficult to cure and is more likely to reappear after a successful initial treatment.
Via Fox News
