Elise Anderson
Elise Anderson
Stage I Neuroblastoma - n-myc amplified
Our Story
Our 13 year old daughter, Elise, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at the age of 15 months. She was sick for about a month with diarrhea, an upset stomach and irritability. Her pediatrician thought it was just a virus and kept switching medications. She developed a body rash. Having an older daughter, we knew this wasn't normal and we took her to an allergist. The doctor did a physical exam and thought her liver was enlarged. He sent us to Children's Memorial Hospital for an ultrasound where Elise was diagnosed with neuroblastoma. After surgery it was discovered that Elise had N-MYC amplification - 86 copies of a gene that a normal person would only have one copy of. N-MYC amplification is associated with recurrence of disease. We were told that if she was to have chemotherapy, she would have about 6 months to live because she would need such high doses to reduce the N-MYC that her little body could not handle it. We sought two more opinions and each came back with a different method of treatment. Ultimately, we were told, not enough research had been done on neuroblastoma and the final choice for treatment was completely ours. We opted for surgery alone in hopes that when the cancer recurred, she would be several months older and better able to handle the high doses of drugs. To everyone's surprise, Elise has remained cancer free for 12 1/2 years. Hers is a success story that we do not hear enough of in the world of neuroblastoma. Her tumor was dissected and sent to labs around the world to be studied in hopes that tests on her tumor would provide some insight into a cure. To date, our family has raised almost 1 million dollars for research. Sadly, that amount cannot begin to make a dent in the research still needing to be done. Thank you to all of you who have given up your lunch so that our precious children have a shot at life. Many of our children have been sent into a battle they cannot win, but with your help, we will give them the ammunition they need to survive! Thank you!
Thank you
Thank you for joining us in the fight for our children's lives. It is only with your support that these children will be able to defeat this monster and it is with research where the war against neuroblastoma will be won!