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Hello, my name is Beth Fretz. My 12 year old daughter, Campbell has been diagnosed with Stage 3 Ovarian Germ Cell Cancer and this is her story of how it all began:
Campbell started running a fever with no other symptoms on April 25, 2016. We took her to an Urgent Care Clinic and they said she had a virus. By April 29 she was still running a 102 fever and we discovered a tiny knot above her belly button. It was very noticeable on her thin, body frame. We took took her back to the same urgent care on May 2, 2016. The doctor felt the knot as well and ordered an abdominal X-ray. The X-ray didn't show a visible knot/lump. So we were sent immediately to Children's Hospital at Scottish Rite in Atlanta. Campbell was admitted for further testing. She had a CT and a MRI on Tuesday morning, May 3 and went straight into surgery the next morning Wednesday, May 4, 2016. The surgeon said they removed a 5 pound ovarian tumor, bigger than a football, out of my little girl! It had spread to all areas of her abdomen including one kidney, spots on her colon, parts of the drape/apron in front of colon, some lymph nodes, parts of her diaphragm, and the fluid in her abdomen. The surgeon removed as much of the cancer as possible and removed 4 large lymph nodes. Our Family was in complete and utter shock. On May 9, 2016, our sweet 12 year old daughter was diagnosed with an extremely rare Advanced Stage 3 Germ Cell Ovarian Cancer. Our active, once healthy little girl from a week before, was now fighting for her life. We felt hopeless and extreme sadness when told of her diagnosis.
Campbell's surgery was immediately followed by 5 days of "in house" intensive Chemotherapy. So, we sat and watched this poison enter into her tiny veins and prayed that it would kill the cancer that had grown inside of her. Campbell was so brave and assured her family that she was going to beat this evil cancer. And on the days that she didn't feel strong, she asked her family and friends to fight for her and be her strength. And we were/are amazed by Campbell's Strength and unwavering faith in God that she will be healed.
At this time the doctors are unsure of Campbell's prognosis at this point. This type of cancer is extremely rare and not much is known about Ovarian Germ Cell Cancer. That is what makes it even scarier. It accounts for only 3% of childhood cancer.
Campbell will receive 5 days of in hospital chemo, every 3 weeks for 4-6 months and then rescan to check her progess. She will also have exploratory surgery, once the chemo is completed, to see if the chemo is in fact doing its job of killing the cancer. If there is more growth, the surgeon will remove as much of the cancer as they can, at that time.
The chemo the doctors have ordered for Campbell is very harsh, which makes her very nauseous and weak. It is very hard for her to eat anything. She also has a lot of bone pain and tingling all over her body. It is our worse nightmare watching Campbell suffer and go thru this. All the while, wishing, as her Mother that I could take her place.
Campbell is so worried about upsetting her little sisters, because she doesn't want them to be scared. She has the most amazing heart. Her faith is so incredibly strong and knows God is beside her every second of this journey. She knows with God's help and your prayers she will beat this disease and become even stronger!
I just ask for everyone to please pray for Campbell to have peace with her diagnosis and that she will be able to tolerate the chemo, the pain and other side effects. She is one tough cookie! If you could also pray for her little sisters to have hope and know that she will be ok. They are such a support system for her, keep her laughing and her spirits up. I want to thank each one of you, from the bottom of my heart, for your constant thoughts and prayers. You are such a blessing to us and are getting us through this difficult time. Campbell loves reading the messages and prayers being sent. You have no idea how much it means to her, knowing all of you are fighting beside her. She has such a strong spirit and no matter how bad things get she smiles and says, "It's OK Mom. I'm a fighter and I will be ok!"
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