Scarlett-Anne was diagnosed with nephroblastoma, also known as Wilms tumour, at the age of four. Her mother, Abby, shared her story.
Scarlett-Anne first showed symptoms of severe constipation and a swollen abdomen. This was when her pain started and she stopped eating properly, leading to multiple hospital trips to try and find out what was wrong. A lump was discovered in her abdomen, under her ribs. The hospital carried out an X-ray, ultrasound and CT scans to confirm what they thought it was.
Scarlett-Anne was diagnosed with a Wilms tumour. The diagnosis devastated the whole family. We were heartbroken and couldn't believe that this had happened to our family. She had five weeks of pre-operative chemotherapy to shrink the tumour, which measured a whopping 17cm x 13cm x 11cm. This was followed by a nephrectomy to remove her kidney and an operation to remove the tumour. Due to the complexity of the surgery, which involved scraping the tumour from her diaphragm, she then had three weeks of radiotherapy, followed by 27 weeks of harsh chemotherapy.
Scarlett-Anne has now been in remission for an entire year. I really wish there was more awareness raised about childhood cancer, as I had no idea that Scarlett's symptoms could lead to a cancer diagnosis.
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