Katie’s Story
Katie was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in 1995 just before her third birthday and is thankfully now a happy and healthy 33- year-old. Thirty years on, Katie’s dad Richard reflects on their experience…
This is Katie’s story. She was too young to remember that time in July 1995 when she was nearly 3 and she had a taster session at the local nursery but she became feverish and limp and had a rash develop on her legs.
Our immediate thoughts raced to her having contracted meningitis and after 2 visits to the doctor that afternoon, he advised that we should take her to the hospital, The John Radcliffe in Oxford, for further examination.
Arriving at the hospital, we carried our little girl, by this time floppy with no energy, into A&E and we remember the relief when meningitis was ruled out but what we hadn’t realised was that the doctor carrying out the examination had detected a lump in her tummy.
Over the following couple of days a series of tests were undertaken including ultrasounds, blood tests and an ECG. A CT Scan provided a clearer diagnosis. By this time we were aware that there was a mass the size of a cricket ball hiding in Katie’s tummy. We found it hard to believe that, given how small she was, something as large as that could be present and that we hadn’t somehow noticed it.
After 4 nights in the hospital we came home whilst the Oncology team, and in particular the wonderful Kate Wheeler (or Dr Kate as Katie referred to her), decided the best course of action which, as suspected, was to remove the lump asap. The surgery was planned for the 13th July, 2 days after Katie’s 3rd Birthday (and Dr Kate’s Birthday!).
The operation went well, performed by a near neighbour in our Village, Mr Nick Dudley, albeit it was explained that there was some ‘tumour spillage’ and after the results of the histology and another general anaesthetic to remove bone marrow, in discussion with Dr Kate we prepared for chemotherapy treatment to commence ahead of which we grabbed a couple of days at the seaside as a light relief for us all.
Although we didn’t know it at the time, we had actually got through the nightmare.
At the end of July, we learnt that the team had reached the decision to hold fire on chemotherapy in the hope that Katie’s little body would be able to deal with any remaining cancer on its own. If it couldn’t, then such treatment would remain an option a little further down the line. Despite ongoing anxiety each time we returned for check ups, no further treatment was necessary and Katie was reviewed by Dr Kate up until 2008. Katie’s story has a very happy ending for which we are forever grateful to Dr Wheeler, Dr Mitchell, Mr Dudley and the rest of the team who provided so much care during that oh so stressful summer 30 years ago.
Now aged 33, Katie excelled at Our Lady’s Abingdon, graduated with a 2:1 in Business Studies at The University of the West of England and is now married to Dan. She is busy looking after her two boys, George (5) and Freddie (20 months), and expecting a little girl in early January.
Thank you to Katie and Richard for sharing their story.
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