“November 12, 2013 is a day that will be forever etched into our minds. Arriving at the ER at 6:00 AM, I was determined to find the answers to my daughter Harlie’s abdominal pain. This was the 3rd Dr. visit in 11 days. Other off and on symptoms mixed into the equation were fever, cough, runny nose, constipation, diarrhea and throwing up. The only constant symptom was abdominal/pelvic pain which seemed to get worse with increased activity. I was so sure this was a case of appendicitis. After the initial examination and a normal urine and white blood cell count the Dr. ordered an x-ray and CT scan. 5 hours after we arrived at the ER we got the results of the CT. It was not appendicitis. I remember being so mad when the Dr said it wasn’t, surely there had to be a reason for the abdominal pain. He went on to tell me that they found a very large mass. The mass was so large that it covered most of Harlie’s pelvic cavity. I was stunned and numb; I was in a state of shock. From that point I heard about every 4th or 5th word. We were told to go home and pack and go to the nearest hospital that had a pediatric oncologist, which was three and a half hours away. When we arrived at the hospital it was too late in the day to do a biopsy, so one was performed first thing the next morning. On November 13, 2013, we were told our 7 year old daughter had Germ Cell Ovarian Cancer. Nothing in life prepares you for that moment when a Dr. tells you that your child has cancer. Life is so unfair. On November 14th, 2013, our daughter had surgery to remove the tumor and her left ovary. The surgery removed about 90% of the cancer. They also installed a port into her shoulder so she could receive chemotherapy. In the subsequent months she had 3 chemo treatments. A second surgery was performed in February to remove some residual spots that were questionable. The spots were biopsied and on February 20th, 2014 we were told our daughter was cancer free!” – Jayne C
