Marissa Monroe
Marissa Monroe
stage IV Neuroblastoma, in treatment
White Pigeon
http://caringbridge.org/visit/marissamonroe
Our Story
Marissa is the most energetic little girl we know! Marissa had a black eye on her left eye that just wouldn't go away. We couldn't remember her falling, bumping or running into anything to get that bruise. We took her to the doctor, she looked at her eye & said that it wasn't fractured & she didn't know what it could be from. She thought the bruise was on its way to healig (this was 4 wks w/a bruise). 2 weeks later, we took her back to the doctor & saw a different doctor. Thank God for him! He knew that this bruised eye wasn't normal & so he did a physical exam on her abdomen & found a large tumor. He told us she might have Neuroblastoma & when I called my husband, I said that the doctor thinks she might have a tumor called neuro something. Now we couldn't forget that name if we tried. Marissa has stage IV NB high risk. One tumor in her abdomen & one tumor next to her left eye (which caused the bruising). Her bone marrow was only 10% affected next to her left eye & in her right hip (near the tumor). She has since undergone 5 rounds of chemo, a biopsy of the tumor, a double lumen broviac in her chest & stem cell collection. After 2 rounds of chemo, her tumor had shrunk by 80% & the tumor next to her eye was almost gone, just some bone dmg left behind which will take months to heal. We will be having her tumor removed soon at U of Michigan. We will then have 1 more round of chemo. After the 6th round of chemo, if all of her scans are good, we will be going to Sloan Kettering for 3f8 antibody therapy. We have decided to do 3f8 in place of stem cell transplant. Marissa will also have radiation & Accutane. Marissa has handled all of her treatment very well & we pray that things continue this way. Marissa has a big sister who is 4 (almost 5), her name is Makenzie & she loves having sleep overs in the hospital.
Thank you
On behalf of our family, we would like to thank you for your donations & support.
Love, Randy, Tracy, Makenzie & Marissa Monroe