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If you are a parent, imagine your young child鈥攂right-eyed, full of energy and love. Their whole life in front of them. Now they say they are in pain. You can鈥檛 do anything to ease it. You take them to the doctor and after many tests, you鈥檙e ushered into a room and told the news you didn鈥檛 want to hear. Your child has cancer.
鈥淚 fell apart,鈥 Sarah Bresee says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 something you wish would never happen to anyone and now, you鈥檙e facing the worst-case scenario. The first month after her diagnosis, I would cry at the drop of a hat. There were so many questions. Is she going to be OK? Is she ever going to be 100% again?鈥
Sarah鈥檚 11-year-old daughter, Emma, was diagnosed in March 2021 with Ewing sarcoma, a rare type of cancer that occurs in bones or in the soft tissue around bones. Emma started having pain the month before. Originally, it seemed like her juvenile arthritis, which she had since the age of two, was the cause.
鈥淢y backside started hurting when I would sit,鈥 Emma says. 鈥淢y parents asked if I fell, but I didn鈥檛 remember falling. Over the next three days, it got worse鈥攖o the point I couldn鈥檛 sit down. I had to lay on my stomach. My doctor at ordered an ultrasound, which led to an MRI and then a biopsy.鈥
So how did Emma respond when she heard the word c-a-n-c-e-r?
鈥淚 was freaked out,鈥 Emma says. 鈥淚 knew people lose their hair and have to stay in the hospital for a while. Then they said Ewing sarcoma and I was like, 鈥榃hat鈥檚 that?鈥 Once the doctors started using words I didn鈥檛 understand, it was scary. I knew it was serious because my dad cried, and he never does that.鈥
I would probably tell other kids that your family loves you. There are so many amazing people here to help. You鈥檙e going to get through this.
Emma started chemotherapy at Intermountain Primary Children鈥檚 Hospital immediately, something she continued every other week until November 2021. After each chemotherapy session, Sarah would stay in the hospital for a few days.
鈥淲e decided on radiation therapy and that鈥檚 why we wound up at Huntsman Cancer Institute,鈥 Sarah explains. Pediatric patients receive most of their cancer care at Primary Children鈥檚, but they get radiation at Huntsman Cancer Institute. 鈥淓mma had radiation on her sacrum every day from June to August, while continuing her chemotherapy, so we had to coordinate the treatments and transportation between the two hospitals.鈥
During the dual treatments, Emma recalls how bad it was. 鈥淚 was super sick every day for a month.鈥 Since the radiation was targeting her sacral area, which is where bloods cells are made, they were not regenerating as quickly as normal. 鈥淭he doctors warned us about how tough it was going to be on her, but it was still so difficult to see her vomiting and being so ill,鈥 says Sarah. After that spell, however, Emma鈥檚 body started recovering from radiation. 鈥淚 would say about September or October was when I started feeling like I was getting back to normal,鈥 adds Emma.
Emma remained positive about her situation and knew it was a process. Even from the original diagnosis, she comforted her parents, asking them how they were doing and trying to lift their spirits.
鈥淲e live about 30 minutes away, so I knew I wouldn鈥檛 be alone,鈥 Emma says. 鈥淢y family could hang out with me in the hospital and get my mind off things. I was able to have my brother, Austin, and sister, Ava, visit one day to play some Nintendo games. I know it was tough on my youngest sister, Hazel, because she wasn鈥檛 allowed to visit.鈥
Eventually, Emma started losing her hair due to treatments. Not wanting to prolong the situation, she decided to shave her head.
鈥淭hat was another really tough point,鈥 Sarah says. 鈥淚t was traumatic and I stood outside the whole time and cried. But even then, Emma comforted me. She always did that鈥攅ven on her hardest days, when she felt miserable.鈥
Emma credits the proton therapy care team at Huntsman Cancer Institute for helping her through the most difficult times. The Bresees also acknowledged the work of Abbie Lofgren, a child life specialist at Huntsman Cancer Institute.
鈥淎bbie always made us feel welcome whenever we visited,鈥 Sarah says. 鈥淪he was always a really big source of comfort and would help us feel better.鈥
鈥淎bbie was great and would bring me gifts,鈥 Emma adds. 鈥淭he entire radiation team and nurses felt like family. They even mailed me a birthday present in October. It was like celebrity treatment. I would always want Fritos and water every time I went in, and they made sure I got it. I was sad when it was done because it became hard not to see everyone.鈥
Emma also says music therapy and meditation played a big role in taking her mind off things, in between reading Fablehaven, Dragonwatch, and Harry Potter books.
鈥淲hen I started freaking out one time, this lady came in and did meditation. I fell asleep for two hours. It was the first time I felt like I had any rest and it really helped. Also, the music therapist would come play guitar. At first, I didn鈥檛 want to do anything. Then I started asking to hear some Disney songs鈥攁nything to get my mind off things. She started showing me how to play guitar and then we switched to piano. Now, I鈥檓 taking piano lessons and even performed on a televised charity program.鈥
Emma is cancer-free as of November 2021. She continues to get checkups every three months and even her arthritis has lessened due to the chemotherapy. 鈥淕ood things can come from horrible situations,鈥 Emma says.
鈥淗opefully, if your child develops cancer, it鈥檚 treatable,鈥 Sarah says. 鈥淚 would tell other parents that it can and will get better, but it isn鈥檛 easy. Try and take it day by day and not overthink everything. Spend time with your child. Enjoy the good days. A lot of families aren鈥檛 as lucky as ours. I can鈥檛 imagine that hurt.鈥
And Emma鈥檚 advice to pediatric cancer patients? 鈥淚 would probably tell other kids that your family loves you. There are so many amazing people here to help. You鈥檙e going to get through this.鈥