Please Pray for Kayla!

My name is Nikki, and I am the proud auntie of a wonderful girl (who really is a woman, but I still see that cute little girl face when I think of her) named Heather. This past week Heather was given the news that her 3 year old daughter, Kayla, has cancer. I want to introduce you to Kayla, and also give some information on the type of cancer she has. And of course we are starting this blog to get as many prayers for Kayla as we can!

While playing at the park Kayla's grandpa noticed when she was running there was just something a little funny about the way she was running. He thought maybe she had possibly dislocated her hip, or something of that nature and took her to the doctor. The scan revealed tumors on her femur bone, as well as spots of cancer on her lungs. Think of the shock, the pain, all the emotions of finding out this beautiful little girl, with no symptoms...has cancer.

This family, this precious girl, needs all of our prayers.

I want to tell you about Kayla. She loves the Disney Princesses as most girls her age do, so much in fact she wants her Mommy to wear her bridesmaids dress from her cousin's wedding to look like Cinderella for her :) She loves for her Mommy to tell her bed time stories, and loves to hear about Mommy and Baby senarios.

Kayla loves Dora. She loves to cook. She is a very colorful child and is always thinking of others. This is a brave little girl, one who is a warrior and is going to beat this!

Her Mommy calls her Goose and Pumkin Face :)

Now about the cancer...

What is Ewing's Sarcoma? Ewing's Sarcoma is a very rare form of bone cancer that strikes children and adolescents. Actually, it is a group of four different types of cancer, known collectively as the Ewing's Family of Tumors (EFT). About 250 cases are diagnosed every year in the U.S. The good news is that two-thirds of patients are long-term survivors of the disease. Although it can occur at a younger age, most Ewing's sarcoma cases are found in children aged 10 to 20.

Treatment - Children with Ewing's sarcomas undergo intensive cancer treatment. Once diagnosed, the child is immediately put on a multi-drug chemotherapy regimen. After about nine weeks, the patient will either undergo surgery to remove what's left of the tumor, or radiation therapy if surgery is not possible. After that, the chemotherapy is continued for a total of up to nine months.

In the past, surgery on tumors in the arm or leg bones almost always required amputation. Limb-sparing surgery techniques, such as bone grafts and artificial bones, can help certain patients avoid losing an arm or leg. The outlook for many Ewing's sarcoma patients is optimistic, except in cases where large tumors cannot be completely removed or have metastasized (spread) to other parts of the body.