Fighting Neuroblastoma Like a Superhero
Treatment TermsNeuroblastoma
CategoriesChildren's health
Author
Aliza Inbari
Overview
VG stands for Vomit Girl, the superhero that Sarah Smith created in her mind when she was a young child undergoing numerous rounds of chemotherapy to treat neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer that develops in the adrenal glands.
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Content“Chemotherapy causes patients to vomit frequently so I came up with a superhero for myself: Vomit Girl,” explained Sarah, now a 22-year-old, cancer-free college student. Her best friend’s mom made her a large cape displaying the initials VG that she proudly wore at the hospital near her childh ood home in Mooresville, NC. Her friend also created a comic book titled, “The Adventures of Vomit Girl and Barf Bucket. ” Barf Bucket was Sarah’s nickname for her dog, Snowy. “That sense of humor brightened many dark days,” she said.
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Maintaining a Fighting Spirit After Relapse
ContentThe good news lasted three and a half years. Then Sarah relapsed. “I felt afraid. I dreaded having to go through everything all over again,” she said.Dr. Driscoll treated 10-year-old Sarah with a different type of chemotherapy before she underwent another stem cell transplant. She remained positive. One afternoon, her mother, Becky Smith, noticed an envelope with Sarah ...
Source: dukehealth.org: Duke Health News - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dg62 at duke.edu Source Type: news
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