A MUM has opened up about how an innocent-looking bruise on her baby girl’s eye turned out to be devastating cancer.
Harper Walker, from Salford, Greater Manchester, was just 13 months old when her parents noticed the small bruise under her right eye in February.
Jam Press/Jenny HuddartHarper Walker, from Salford, Greater Manchester, was just 13 months old when her parents noticed the small bruise under her right eye in February. The mark turned out to be a symptom of neuroblastoma[/caption]
Jam Press/Jenny HuddartHarper’s (pictured with mum Jenny Huddart) bruise was initially small and light-coloured but grew to look like a black eye after just two weeks[/caption]
Jenny Huddart, 38, and dad Adam Walker, 36, noticed the mark appeared to have become a black eye after just two weeks and took her to the GP after a month.
After several visits without a diagnosis, the situation continued to get worse and Harper was eventually rushed to hospital, where she was referred to a specialist eye team.
Scans showed it was a stage four, high-risk neuroblastoma, a cancer that develops from immature nerve cells found in several areas of the body.
Jenny said: “Honestly, to begin with we were just in total shock — it didn’t hit us fully at first.
“Then when it did, it was like the world had stopped. I think we both still feel like we are walking around in a daze at times.”
Around 100 children are diagnosed with neuroblastoma in the UK every year, with under-fives mostly affected.
Tumours develop from specialised nerve cells called neuroblasts that are left behind from baby’s development in the womb.
The disease usually occurs in the kidneys or spinal cord and can spread to other organs, including the lymph nodes, liver and skin.
Symptoms include a lump in the tummy that can make it swell, causing discomfort or pain, as well as blue black coloured skin it has spread.
Children can also suffer numbness, weakness, loss of movement in the lower part of the body, breathlessness and difficulty breathing.
The doctors told Jenny and Adam that Harper’s cancer originated in her adrenal gland on her kidney and was now present in her limbs, ribs, hips, skull and bone marrow.
Jenny told Need To Know: “In general her health has always been fine, she’s usually happy, smiley, and bounces back from bugs relatively quickly.
“We went to see the doctor as soon as we noticed it, but the GP wasn’t concerned. We re-visited again a couple weeks later, but she asked for us to return again in two weeks.”
Her diagnosis came before a scheduled appointment however, after the parents rushed her to A&E on the advice of 111.
After the disease was spotted at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, Harper, who has three brothers and a sister, immediately started treatment, including chemotherapy.
She will continue the chemo until later this month, before having surgery to remove the tumour from her kidney.
After this, she will have high dose chemotherapy, having her stem cells removed and frozen.
Jenny said: “Once the intensive chemotherapy is complete, Harper will have her stem cells returned to help her start to grow new, healthy blood cells.”
After that, she will have radiotherapy to target the original site of the cancer — her kidney — to try and prevent it from returning.
Finally, she will undergo immunotherapy to spot and destroy cancer cells.
What are the symptoms of neuroblastoma?
Symptoms can include:
a swollen, painful tummy, sometimes with constipation and difficulty peeing
breathlessness and difficulty swallowing
a lump in the neck
blueish lumps in the skin and bruising, particularly around the eyes
weakness in the legs and an unsteady walk, with numbness in the lower body, constipation and difficulty peeing
fatigue, loss of energy, pale skin, loss of appetite and weight loss
bone pain, a limp and general irritability
rarely, jerky eye and muscle movements
Source: The NHS
Despite her hardship, Jenny and Adam say Harper hasn’t changed and has been her best version of herself.
Jenny added: “Harper hasn’t lost her spark. She is so welcoming and smiley for the nursing team.
“She lost her hair a couple of weeks into treatment, so this did irritate Harper to the point of upset.
“Adam sat and removed all of her loose hair by hand, so she didn’t have to have it cut as this would scare her.”
Having finished induction chemotherapy, her family are awaiting news on how she is responding to treatment so far.
Jenny added: “Harper has stem cells harvested at the start of August and then, depending on the outcome from the scans, we will find out whether she has an operation to remove the primary tumour or onto high dose chemotherapy.
“She has coped well with the treatment overall, but has to have a blood count every three days as her platelets are permanently low, so she has had more transfusions than I care to count.
“We are hoping the scans show she is responding well, and the cancer has reduced.
“I’d love them to say it is no longer there, but I know that is a dream not reality.
“Harper still isn’t walking as one of the symptoms of neuroblastoma is to have weak or unsteady balance, but she is trying and is slowly getting strength in them.”
Jam Press/Jenny HuddartAfter the disease was spotted, Harper immediately started treatment, including chemotherapy[/caption] Read More