#HopeForAshlynHope
Ashlyn is 5, loves princesses, dolls, art, Elsa, fishing, and anything girly! The week of May 15th, 2020, Ashlyn started experiencing belly pain. Her mother Julie had a feeling something wasn't right and insisted on an in-person appointment even though Ashlyn was just seen for a well-child visit 2 days prior. Upon examination, the doctor felt a mass in her abdomen. After an X-ray and an ultrasound, they were told she had a 10cm mass on her kidney that was likely a Wilms Tumor. She was immediately sent to Duke hospital and was admitted. She had surgery on May 18th, 2020 to have a port placed and began chemotherapy the next day. She had 5 weeks of chemo and another surgery on June 25, 2020. During this time, Ashlyn deteriorated so much. She was in so much pain. She threw up several times a day. Some days wouldn't walk or talk at all. When they opened her up, they discovered the chemo didn't work, the tumor had grown and they weren't sure what they were facing. After a week of waiting for pathology results to come back, Ashlyn was diagnosed with Stage 4 High-Risk Neuroblastoma. She immediately began the correct chemo regimen for Neuroblastoma. However, the surgery made her tumor angry and it became more inflamed resulting in severe pain. After a tough few weeks of pain, she was finally headed in the right direction. She received 5 rounds of chemo for neuroblastoma then she underwent resection of the tumor. She had scans after the resection that showed she was in remission. Although, she is in remission she must continue treatment for another 2 years to prevent relapse. Neuroblastoma is very aggressive and must be treated very thoroughly. She has since received 14 rounds of radiation to her abdomen and chest. She is currently receiving treatment at Sloan Kettering in NYC. They are the number one Neuroblastoma hospital in the world. Ashlyn goes once a month for 10-14 days for immunotherapy and scans. After immunotherapy is complete Ashlyn will be enrolled in a clinical trial using a vaccine to prevent reoccurrence. This trial is for 18 months, which includes travel to NYC. As you can see, Ashlyn and her family have endured so much the last 10 months and they still have a long way in their journey! Thank you so much for the support!
