Our 8 year old daughter Nieve had surgery scheduled for January 2019 to have a lump in her back removed. The lump started off as a pea sized lump in the summer of 2018 & after various courses of antibiotics failed to disperse it, a local anaesthetic surgery was arranged for the January.
The surgeon came to see Nieve on the day of the surgery & identified the lump had grown considerably in the short space of time since it had been found & decided the best course of action to remove it would be under general anaesthetic.
We received a phone call in February asking us to attend Ayr Hospital later in February. We presumed it was post op follow up.
When we arrived, we were shown into a room where a doctor sat us down & gave us the devastating news that the lump which had been removed had been tested & was Non Differentiated Childhood Sarcoma – A form of cancer. They could not advise at the time the severity.
Nieve screamed. It was so much for us as a family to take in let alone an 8 year old child.
An appointment was made for us at Glasgow Sick Kids Hospital where we met with specialists in the field, spoke with various doctors and surgeons from all over the country about Nieve’s cancer.
They were unable to tell us the prognosis initially. We had an agonising wait for test results, from MRI scans & CT scans Nieve underwent.
In March 2019 Nieve had further surgery to remove more tissue from her back which had to be tested to ensure all of the cancerous tissue had been removed.
Finally & thankfully on 7th March 2019 we were given the news that all cancer had been removed through the surgery & Nieve did not require further treatment.
The ward Nieve attended was The Schiehallion. Initially on a daily basis, then weekly, monthly and now once every three months. There is a 15% chance the cancer could return. Nieve will be monitored for life.
We are so very grateful for the support throughout the process and the ongoing support we receive from The Schiehallion ward.