Julianna is a 12 year old girl who is a
Girl Scout, takes dance classes and plays soccer. She enjoys singing,
playing violin, and performing in plays. She also has Ewing's Sarcoma, a
bone cancer that usually strikes adolescents and young adults. It
often starts in long bones of the body such as the femur or pelvis, and
can spread to soft tissue. In late August of 2012, Julianna began
complaining of hip pain. The pain increased over the next few weeks and
she started to experience other symptoms such as fatigue and
unexplained fevers. An x-ray of the hip showed nothing. Blood work for
Lyme disease came back negative. Finally an MRI showed an abnormal
growth in Julianna's hip, and she immediately went to a pediatric
oncologist and the cancer was found. Julianna is now being treated at
the Tomorrows Children's Institute for Cancer and Blood Disorders at
Hackensack University Medical Center. She is undergoing intensive
chemotherapy that requires hospitalization for about 8 days a month,
plus regular clinic checkups. She receives home instruction so that she
can continue her schooling during treatment. As of January 2013, scans
showed that chemotherapy has eliminated the tumors in Julianna's body.
Her doctor declared her "NED"--no evidence of disease. She continued to
undergo chemotherapy treatment until June 2013. In early June 2013,
Julianna was diagnosed with moderate chemotherapy-induced
cardiomyopathy: a heart condition. Basically, her heart muscles were
weakened by one of her chemotherapy drugs. This is treatable with
medication, but complicated treatment. Since Julianna was almost
finished with treatment and had been NED for several months, her doctors
decided it was advisable to cancel the 14th and last chemo treatment.
However, an end-of-treatment scan in July 2013 showed a recurrence of
the tumors in her pelvis and upper femur. Julianna will continue
treatment with medications that are tolerated by her heart.
Julianna's caringbrige: http://
Hope session by Essential Life Photography
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