A mom revealed today how a seemingly harmless bruise under her toddler’s eye was a symptom of cancer.
Harper Walker, from Greater Manchester, had a small bruise under her right eye in February.
Soon after, the year-old’s eye began to change shape and droop over her face.
Her parents, Jenny, 38, and Adam, 36, thought it was harmless, but took her to the GP when the little one’s bruise grew into a completely black eye.
The GP sent the two teachers away without explanation.
Harper Walker, from Greater Manchester, had a small bruise under her right eye in February
The little girl was diagnosed with stage four, a high-risk, neuroblastoma that was spreading throughout her body
The year-old’s eye began to change shape and droop over her face, but the GP rejected her
The concerned parents returned a few weeks later when the bruise started to worsen, but were asked to return within two weeks.
Dissatisfied with the response, Jenny called the GP surgery and asked to be referred to an eye specialist – this was arranged before the end of April.
But the little one’s eye started to droop, so the two rushed their baby to the emergency room.
Scans showed she had stage four, high-risk neuroblastoma – a cancer that develops from immature nerve cells found in various parts of the body.
It spread from her adrenal gland to her kidney to her limbs, ribs, hips, skull and bone marrow.
Bluish nodules in the skin and bruising, especially around the eyes, is a common symptom of neuroblastoma, according to the GGD.
Jenny said, ‘To be honest, we were just in total shock to begin with – it didn’t quite sink in at first.
“When it happened, it was like the world had stopped.
“I think we both sometimes feel like we’re in a daze.”
Harper is said to be cheerful most of the time, good laugh, and to bounce back from bugs relatively quickly.
Neuroblastoma mainly affects babies and young children. It develops from specialized nerve cells – neuroblasts – left behind by a baby’s development in the womb.
In stage four, the cancer has spread to parts of the body some distance from where it started — usually to the bones, bone marrow, or liver.
Each year, around 100 children in the UK and 800 young people in the US are diagnosed with the rare cancer, which is most common in children under the age of five.
About half of those diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma will live another five years after their diagnosis.
Unsatisfied with the answer, Jenny called the GP surgery and asked to be referred to an eye specialist, but she was soon rushed to the emergency room.
The cancer spread from her adrenal gland to her kidney to her limbs, ribs, hips, skull and bone marrow
After finishing induction chemotherapy, the family awaits news on how she is responding to the treatment
Discussing her daughter’s diagnosis, Jenny said, “Harper hasn’t lost her spark.
“She is so welcoming and smiley to the nursing team.
She lost her hair a few weeks into the treatment, so this irritated Harper to the point of being upset.
“Adam sat down and removed all of her loose hair by hand so she wouldn’t have to get it cut because that would scare her.”
After finishing induction chemotherapy, the family awaits news on how she is responding to the treatment.
Depending on the outcome of the scans, the family will discover whether to have surgery to remove the primary tumor or undergo high-dose chemotherapy.
She will then receive radiotherapy to target the original site of the cancer – her kidney – to prevent it from returning and immunotherapy to find and destroy cancer cells.