About Patrycja
About Patrycja
Patrycja was born on June 24, 2011. She was premature and weighed 3.3 pounds at birth. Having spent five weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Poland and nearly a year in physical therapy, she overcame all the obstacles to her development and by the grace of God became a confident happy little girl who has brought so much joy into the life of her family, friends and teachers.
Patrycja loves to laugh, play, ride a tricycle, and play beauty salon with her sister, Natalka. She also loves to help mom in the kitchen, make omelets, and bake cookies – sometimes adding 'special' ingredients such as dish soap :-)
Her joyful childhood, however, was interrupted by a visit to a doctor last month. On Friday, May 23, 2014, we learned that Patrycja had had a 5.6 cm tumor in her right lung. She was immediately transported to Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City and had surgery two days later. The surgery was very successful and the doctors removed the entire mass. She did, however, lose half of her right lung. But thankfully, she is able to function normally and we have felt the hand of God every step of the way. Her brain MRI and bone scan following surgery were clear and no metastases were found anywhere else in her body.
The pathology report revealed that the tumor was cancerous. It's called Pleuropulmonary Blastoma (PPB), a very rare type of childhood cancer found in children ages 2-5. PPB develops in the lungs and often grows without showing any symptoms as was the case with Patrycja, who only had a mild cough and fever for a few days prior to the doctor's visit.
Compared to other types of childhood cancer, very little research has been done about PPB as there are fewer than 40 cases reported globally every year. As her doctor told us, she is less than one in a million. Because PPB is said to be a very aggressive type of cancer, doctors often prescribe treatment after surgery.
Patrycja started chemotherapy on June 24, which was her third birthday. She is on a 36-week regimen and is scheduled to receive chemotherapy once every three weeks. The first nine weeks of the treatment are the most intense as she is receiving the largest doses of the drugs.
She is receiving excellent medical care at Children's Mercy Downtown in Kansas City and all the doctors and nurses have shown her so much care and empathy. However, we know that ultimately her life in the hands of God and He is her doctor and her healer.
