Brooke Runde, (4) of Kensett, IA, daughter of Daniel & Erin Runde, Central Springs Preschooler, was diagnosed with cancer on Jan 16th, 2017.
Christmas of 2016 Brooke was a happy 4 year old, loved going to school and enjoying being a kid.
After Christmas Brooke's belly started to look bigger, at first mom and dad just wondered if she was having trouble going potty, but on Jan 15th, 2017 they noticed it was hard and very large. Brooke basically looked pregnant. After several scans and a rush trip to Iowa City Children’s Hospital it was determined Brooke had a kidney cancer call Wilm's Tumor.
Wilms' tumor is a rare kidney cancer that primarily affects children. Also known as nephroblastoma, Wilms' tumor is the most common cancer of the kidneys in children. Wilms' tumor most often affects children ages 3 to 4.
While we are very fortunate with the diagnosis of Wilm's tumor, Brookes tumor is very large, basically the size of a football, remember in a 4 year old’s body. It was determined she would need chemo and then surgery to remove the tumor, and then chemo again followed by radiation.
For those of you who don't personally know Brooke. We call her the Brookenator. She is one tough little cookie and we have all the faith that she will beat this. After her first surgery in the hospital just to see what her tumor was she insisted on walking to XRAY (which is a long walk), to this day she has never rode in a wheelchair and refuses.
Brooke currently receives chemo treatments every Monday. Her Mondays start early as it is a 3 hr car ride to the hospital. Luckily she gets to come home after her treatments. Often mom and dad try to add something fun like a toy store. :-)
Every week chemo gets tougher for Brooke. She now knows what we do every Monday in Iowa City. She cries and basically has to be held down to access her port.
This month, March of 2017 Brooke has a large surgery. They will try to remove the tumor and most likely her right kidney. The other issue we are facing with Brooke is her radiation area will be around/by her ovaries. The concern is Brooke will not be able to have a baby of her owns someday. We are trying to meet with specialist and doctors to see about saving her ovaries and planning is still in process, however with her age there may be nothing we can do. The other issue, is insurance most likely won't cover the cost of trying to save the ovaries, and she would have to be transferred to another hospital, which we are not sure is the best idea. Now we are trying to see if we can just reposition her ovaries. While Brooke's life is first in our thoughts, as parents we also don't want to take away her right to bear kids of her own someday.
A fundraiser is planned for June 24th at Brooke's school in Manly, IA. There will be photos with princesses, inflatables, food, bake sale, silent auction, live auction and much much more. Please contact us.
Please continue to pray for our tough little Brookenator. We really appreciate any support you can offer her to help offset her care, travel, living expenses, etc.
Kind regards,
Runde family
Christmas of 2016 Brooke was a happy 4 year old, loved going to school and enjoying being a kid.
After Christmas Brooke's belly started to look bigger, at first mom and dad just wondered if she was having trouble going potty, but on Jan 15th, 2017 they noticed it was hard and very large. Brooke basically looked pregnant. After several scans and a rush trip to Iowa City Children’s Hospital it was determined Brooke had a kidney cancer call Wilm's Tumor.
Wilms' tumor is a rare kidney cancer that primarily affects children. Also known as nephroblastoma, Wilms' tumor is the most common cancer of the kidneys in children. Wilms' tumor most often affects children ages 3 to 4.
While we are very fortunate with the diagnosis of Wilm's tumor, Brookes tumor is very large, basically the size of a football, remember in a 4 year old’s body. It was determined she would need chemo and then surgery to remove the tumor, and then chemo again followed by radiation.
For those of you who don't personally know Brooke. We call her the Brookenator. She is one tough little cookie and we have all the faith that she will beat this. After her first surgery in the hospital just to see what her tumor was she insisted on walking to XRAY (which is a long walk), to this day she has never rode in a wheelchair and refuses.
Brooke currently receives chemo treatments every Monday. Her Mondays start early as it is a 3 hr car ride to the hospital. Luckily she gets to come home after her treatments. Often mom and dad try to add something fun like a toy store. :-)
Every week chemo gets tougher for Brooke. She now knows what we do every Monday in Iowa City. She cries and basically has to be held down to access her port.
This month, March of 2017 Brooke has a large surgery. They will try to remove the tumor and most likely her right kidney. The other issue we are facing with Brooke is her radiation area will be around/by her ovaries. The concern is Brooke will not be able to have a baby of her owns someday. We are trying to meet with specialist and doctors to see about saving her ovaries and planning is still in process, however with her age there may be nothing we can do. The other issue, is insurance most likely won't cover the cost of trying to save the ovaries, and she would have to be transferred to another hospital, which we are not sure is the best idea. Now we are trying to see if we can just reposition her ovaries. While Brooke's life is first in our thoughts, as parents we also don't want to take away her right to bear kids of her own someday.
A fundraiser is planned for June 24th at Brooke's school in Manly, IA. There will be photos with princesses, inflatables, food, bake sale, silent auction, live auction and much much more. Please contact us.
Please continue to pray for our tough little Brookenator. We really appreciate any support you can offer her to help offset her care, travel, living expenses, etc.
Kind regards,
Runde family