Catherine’s Story

Catherine was a healthy, happy child until age 3½ when we noticed that she had a slight limp. Our lives changed forever when she was diagnosed with Stage IV high risk neuroblastoma, a cancer with a dismal prognosis. Within days of her diagnosis, she began intense treatments including six rounds of high-dose chemotherapy, surgery to remove the tumor on her right adrenal gland, two stem-cell transplants, radiation, and innumerable tests, scans, and blood transfusions. Following the harsh fifteen-month treatment protocol, Catherine emerged cancer-free. She remained well for two years, but her neuroblastoma returned just before her 7th birthday, and she was immediately plunged back into the world of cancer treatment. Catherine was able to reach a second remission and began a course of antibody treatments at Sloan Kettering in New York. Unfortunately, after three months, her scans showed the cancer had returned for a third time. We took her to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for radiotherapy with MIBG. This treatment failed to stop the neuroblastoma from progressing. Catherine was hospitalized with severe pain in February 2011. She had reached the end of her treatment options. Catherine died on April 1, 2011.