Kiki Strong - Help her fight cancer again
Below is all the details, in Ash and JP’s words. I will also continue to update this page, as we take this road to recovery. Thank You ❤️
From Ash & JP:
Cancer is scary, Kiki was 19 months cancer free and here we are today living what feels like a bigger nightmare than the first time around. She’s only 14 years old, now fighting cancer for a 2nd time. Not only do we have to be afraid of the long-term effects of chemotherapy and all the sadness that chemo brings, such as losing her hair, eyelashes, and eyebrows and realizing that she will now be identified as a child with cancer. Which is all hard enough but seems little in comparison to the other decisions we have to make.
After speaking with her Oncologist, we’ve also been informed that this type of chemo will cause infertility and as a result I have to think about preserving my daughters’ eggs, at the age of 14. Egg Harvesting is not something I thought I would ever have to think about, especially for my little girl. The most frustrating part about that process, is that insurance will not cover the expense. The cost for this procedure is $5500.00, in addition to $200-$300 per year to store those eggs. Then we have the cost of surgery, chemotherapy, hospital stays, scans and EKG’s.
On September 02, 2021, after what we hoped would be another routine scan, they discovered 2 new “Blebs” on Kiki’s right lung, which is the same place her cancer was before. So, Kiki is now scheduled for surgery on September 20, 2021. They will remove the “Blebs” and send them for biopsy. After that they will do a PET Scan, to confirm the cancer hasn’t metastasized to other parts of her body. Then the egg harvesting will take place and once that’s complete, she will begin Chemo, sometime in mid-October.
Kiki will have to have 6-7 rounds of chemo every 21 days and she will have to stay in the hospital for a minimum of 3 days every time she has a treatment done. This is because we have to worry about kidney failure and cardiac toxicity. So, she has to remain in the hospital for 3 days, every 21 days, to load her up on fluids to keep her kidneys healthy. She will also have to meet with a Cardiologist and go through EKGs to make sure the Chemo isn’t damaging her heart.
Synovial Sacorma is already a rare cancer as it is, but Kiki’s is extra rare on top of that due to the location of it. It limits the available treatments she has. The only other option to guarantee complete removal of the contaminated area would be to remove her lung completely.
This is terrifying and when I ask the doctors if this is going to work, all they can say is “We’ll just have to wait and see.” I ask that you please keep my family and my Kiki in your thoughts and prayers, as we fight this fight and please know in advance that we appreciate all the support.
Ashly and JP
