Just after turning 18 months old, my daughter Marnie was diagnosed with Wilms’ tumour, a type of kidney cancer. It was the scariest thing ever. Despite the diagnosis, she remained the happiest and cheekiest little girl. I wouldn’t have known it was cancer if I hadn’t pushed the doctors for more testing. Marnie was urinating blood, and while one hospital initially flagged it as a UTI, I knew as a mother that something was wrong.
I took her to the closest A&E for more testing, as she had started passing blood clots. It was the longest day ever. Getting blood from a toddler is a big challenge and collecting a urine sample is equally difficult. After the blood tests and examination, they discovered a lump on her right kidney. She was sent for an emergency ultrasound, which revealed a mass. We were admitted, and the next day, an MRI confirmed it was kidney cancer. Her tumour was the size of her kidney, having grown over it.
Hearing those words felt like my life had left my body. We quickly met with our main doctor, who decided on Marnie’s treatment plan. Marnie had a Hickman line (her "wiggly") placed, and her chemotherapy started. She received one week of strong chemo followed by a week of weaker chemo, alternating between the two.
The strong chemo made her feel unwell, but it successfully reduced the tumour by half, which allowed us to proceed with her surgery. She needed a blood transfusion before the operation, which went well—her kidney and the tumour were removed. We were discharged 48 hours later because Marnie bounced back so quickly.
She continued with four weeks of chemotherapy after the surgery. Although she developed an infection in her Hickman line, which required its removal, the good news was that her blood tests showed a recovered count. With a speedy recovery, treatment, patience, love and support, Marnie rang the special end-of-treatment bell on July 23, 2024. We now have scans every three months, which will eventually be spaced out to every six months.
Challenges during treatment
We faced several challenges during Marnie's treatment, one of the biggest being her sudden loss of appetite during chemo - she hardly ate and was only drinking milk. Her sleep was also difficult, almost like having a newborn again, waking up four or five times a night. Despite everything, Marnie remained her happy, amazing self. Even after her major operation, she bounced back so quickly that we were discharged within 48 hours because of how well she was doing. She amazed me every day with her bubbly, happy spirit, even while her body was going through so much. She did experience constipation during chemo, but overall, not much changed for her.
Advice to other parents
Don’t give up. Yes, there will be dark, challenging days, but those days don't last forever. You and your family will make it through to the other side!
If you need to cry, let yourself cry - let it all out. Let all your emotions out, don’t ever bottle up your feelings. Surrounding yourself with an amazing support system helps massively. And never feel like you're failing, because you’re not! Most importantly, keep pushing. Push for answers, push for tests and trust your instincts. If I hadn’t of done that, I wouldn’t have known Marnie had cancer. You know your child better than anyone. Keep going, you’ve got this!