When the doctor was talking to me Oscar woke up, looked over at me and my heart broke thinking about what he was about to go through.
- Angela, Oscar’s mum
Oscar was an active, outgoing child who loved trips on his dad’s boat. But when his dad discovered a lump in his stomach, leading to a diagnosis of Burkitt’s lymphoma, it turned his life and that of his family upside down.
Before diagnosis
At four years old, Oscar was an active, outgoing, friendly child who had lots of friends at kindy. He loved being part of family trips to Magnetic Island on his dad’s boat. He loved being outside, climbing anything and everything he could, and swimming in the pool with big sister Isla.
Symptoms
While at kindy, Oscar had a sudden onset of stomach pain and vomiting. While this cleared up quickly, a couple of weeks later Oscar complained of feeling sick again. His dad felt his stomach and discovered a large lump. An initial diagnosis of appendicitis saw Oscar taken to the emergency department, where he underwent surgery. Surgeons discovered his appendix was fine but they found and removed a mass from his abdomen.
They had to do a laparotomy (a large incision) in his abdomen, and they removed the mass and approximately 20cm of bowel.
- Angela, Oscar’s mum
Diagnosis
Samples of the mass were sent to pathology for analysis. Angela was sitting at Oscar’s bedside when the paediatric surgeon and nurses told them they believed it was cancer. Oscar was flown to Brisbane for further diagnosis and treatment. Testing confirmed Burkitt’s lymphoma, Stage 3B. As well as the initial large tumour found in Oscar's abdomen, doctor's also discovered multiple smaller tumours throughout Oscar's chest
Burkitt’s lymphoma is a form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in which cancer starts in immune cells. The cancer is recognised as the fastest-growing human tumour and is rapidly fatal if left untreated.
Treatment
Oscar underwent four months of intensive chemotherapy. His chemotherapy rounds were up to a week long, and that involved regular intrathecal chemotherapy via lumbar puncture, for which he had to be anaesthetised. Oscar suffered severe mucositis of his bowel from the chemotherapy, which resulted in extended hospital stays or re-admissions to manage the pain.
As much as our lives had been turned upside down by Oscar’s diagnosis, we knew we could get through anything as long as Oscar was going to be okay in the end.
- Angela, Oscar’s mum
Impact
With Oscar to receive chemotherapy in Brisbane, his family travelled from Townsville and both of his parents stopped working so they could be together as a family. It was a new world of hospital stays, outpatient appointments and spending time with Oscar.
Some of the side effects of the treatment for Oscar included severe mucositis, pain, vomiting, weight loss, hair loss, low haemoglobin requiring blood transfusions, bruising and lethargy. He now has a constant nasal drip and nasal stuffiness after his treatment.
Today
Oscar is in remission, and is a happy, healthy and very active little boy. He loves playing soccer with his team, loves anything army related, and regularly has ‘Nerf Wars’ with other kids in our neighbourhood. However, for mum Angela, there will always be a worry of relapse or another form of cancer developing.
In July 2018 Oscar's dad, Marc, took part in the 20th Anniversary of the Townsville to Cairns Bike Ride, raising $400k towards much-needed funds for the Children's Cancer Institute. The Townsville to Cairns bike ride has raised over $6m for the Children's Cancer Institute over the past 20 years.
I worry that Oscar will develop another form of cancer due to the treatment he had for his Burkitt’s lymphoma.
- Angela, Oscar’s mum
How you can help
Give a gift
By giving a gift today, you can make a difference to the lives of children with cancer.
Fundraising and events
Get involved in one of our events or create your own to help find better, safer treatments for children with cancer.
Partnerships
Join our diverse community of businesses, philanthropists and gamechangers, determined to help cure childhood cancer.
Share your story
Have you been touched by childhood cancer and would like to share your story? Please get in touch today.
