In June 2009, Stella was diagnosed with MYC-N amplified neuroblastoma. At the age of just 17 months, a tumour originating in her adrenal gland had grown to a large size.
Stella’s initial neuroblastoma treatment involved 70 days of aggressive chemotherapy, major surgery to remove the tumour, a stem cell harvest and transplant, three weeks of radiotherapy, and six months of oral chemotherapy at the Royal Marsden Hospital, London.
To give Stella the best chance of survival, parents John and Allison pursued further treatment in the US. For the treatment to be most effective, it needed to commence no later than 100 days after Stella received her stem cell transplant. Quoted at £250,000, the Roger’s family began frantically fundraising alongside the 2Simple Trust (now the Neuroblastoma Alliance) to get the funds needed to Stella’s treatment. In February of 2010, Stella went to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for ch14.18 antibody treatment.
After arriving in Philadelphia, Stella underwent a range of testing including x-rays, scans, and bone marrow biopsies where results found her original site and bone marrow clear of cancer. With daily injections of the immune system boosting drug GM-CSF being administered by mum Allison, Stella had her first round of antibodies. With the first round of antibodies, Stella experienced the side effects common in the treatment – pain, dropping blood pressure, hives, vomiting, fevers, and the swelling of her limbs and face.
Stella’s second round of antibodies was combined with IL2, and this combination of medication began to alter her mood and behaviour – particularly the Accutane which is a drug used to kill any rapidly dividing cells. Throughout her treatment, tests continued to show that Stella had no visible signs of cancer present in her body. Returning to the UK for a few weeks of respite from her intensive treatment, Stella was able to remove her feeding tube and began to eat. Despite having to re-learn a lot of her motor skills after months of hospital treatment, Stella began to show signs of improvement.
In August of 2010, Stella’s test results showed that she was in remission and she had surgery to remove the Hickman line in her chest which had been present for the 14 months of her treatment.
Stella now has regular scans and tests to check that she remains in remission.
Please help us to help children like Stella. Visit her website to keep up to date with her progress at www.forstella.org. Please see www.childrenscancer.org.uk to find out more about other children who need help.
The work of the 2Simple Trust will be moving over to the Neuroblastoma Children's Cancer Alliance UK. The new charity is focussed exclusively on helping children with neuroblastoma and will drive the 2Simple Trust’s mission to improve the outcome for all children with neuroblastoma. We are an alliance of parents and communities who want to beat childhood cancer.
