Our daughter, Hannah Grace, was diagnosed with stage IV hepatoblastoma (liver cancer with lung metastasis) just weeks shy of her second birthday.
Under the care of oncologist, Dr. James Geller and surgeon, Dr. Greg Tiao at Cincinnati Children’s, Hannah endured over ten rounds of cisplatin chemotherapy and a full liver transplant. In November 2020, six months after her diagnosis, Hannah was declared cancer free.
Due to her aggressive tumor and diagnosis, we monitor Hannah’s bloodwork monthly and anesthetize her for MRI and CT scans quarterly. Unfortunately in May 2021, a small lung nodule was discovered during a routine scan. After surgically removing the nodule, we opted for a wait and see approach but then discovered a second nodule in January 2022. This nodule was surgically removed by Dr. Tiao and we made the heartbreaking decision to subject our daughter to more chemo.
Because data on relapsed hepatoblastoma is limited, the type and duration of maintenance chemo is ambiguous. Dr. Geller consulted with other leading pediatric oncologists and we finalized a treatment plan that made the most sense for Hannah—two rounds of cisplatin and etoposide chemotherapies; and six rounds of irinotecan chemotherapy.
After eight long months, Hannah concluded her grueling treatment schedule and started Pre-K in the fall of 2022—two meaningful milestones for Hannah and our family. We continue to monitor Hannah regularly and are forever grateful for her care team and donor’s ultimate gift.
This experience has humbled our family and opened our eyes to the need for research funding of pediatric cancers, especially rare ones.
Tom and Kristen Grace live in Phoenix, Arizona with their five year-old twins, Hannah and Hudson, and two year-old daughter, Violet.
