A schoolgirl who thought she had regular “growing pains” ended up being diagnosed with cancer.
Ivie Adams, 11, feared she would die after being heartbreakingly told she had a 26cm tumor growing in her leg.
Chemotherapy made her sick and cruelly stripped her of her long brown hair, although she is now cancer-free.
Ivie had to learn to walk again after her grueling treatment, in which her leg bone was replaced with an artificial implant.
Recalling the moment she was told she had cancer, Ivie, from Sittingbourne, Kent, said: “Although I didn’t think much about it when I was first diagnosed, all I knew was that I didn’t want to die.”
Ivie Adams, 11, feared she would die after being heartbreakingly told she had a 26cm tumor growing in her leg.
Recalling the moment she was told she had cancer, Ivie said, “Although I didn’t think much about it when I was first diagnosed, all I knew was that I didn’t want to die.”
“The first round of chemo was really horrible because it made me sick and I was worried it would happen again when I got the second dose.”
Ivie was diagnosed with malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) last summer.
This rare cancer, thought to affect only one in 100,000 people, usually grows in the legs, but can appear anywhere.
Ivie’s tumor ran from the top of her knee to her femur, and the bone ran down her thigh to her hip.
The first time he complained of pain in his leg was last May.
However, her family thought they were age-related (growing pains are common in prepubescent children) or fatigue from playing soccer and netball.
Mum Zoe, 47, became more worried when Ivie started waking up during the night in agony.
Despite trying, she was told she would not be able to get a GP appointment for more than a month.
Mrs Adams said: ‘I queued the next morning at 7am to see Ivie when he should have had his initiation at his new school.
‘It’s fortunate that after he had an x-ray, it was discovered that he had bone cancer in his femur.
“It’s scary to think about what could have happened if they hadn’t taken care of her from the beginning.”
Ivie was finally diagnosed in late July, two months after her symptoms began.
Adams said receiving the phone call from doctors was “horrible,” as were the “hellish” months Ivie had to go through to get better.
Ivie started chemotherapy in August and lost her hair as a result of the powerful treatment.
Doctors opted to replace Ivie’s femur with an artificial hip and knee, in case the medications were not completely effective.
Ivie underwent surgery in November at University College London Hospital.
He had to learn to walk again and received extensive physical therapy to ensure he could bend his knee.
Although the doctors have “ringed the bell”, meaning that she is cancer-free, the student will have to attend check-ups once a month for the next two years.
He had to learn to walk again and received extensive physical therapy to ensure he could bend his knee.
He has also undergone genetic testing so that the disease can be further researched and understood.
Now that Ivie is back in school, the family wants to raise awareness about rare cancers that sometimes don’t have clear symptoms so that tumors can be detected early.
Mrs Adams said: “We both want to help people recognize the symptoms of bone cancer and help families going through what we have had to endure.”
“Ivie is an inspiration and has a great story to tell to help people like her in the community.” MPNSTs, a type of sarcoma, begin life in the layer of tissue that covers peripheral nerves, known as the nerve sheath.
These nerves send messages between the brain, spinal cord and the rest of the body, according to Cancer Research UK.
This rare cancer, thought to affect only one in 100,000 people, usually grows in the legs, but can appear anywhere.
Mum Zoe, 47, became more worried when Ivie started waking up during the night in agony.
Although the doctors have “ringed the bell”, meaning that she is cancer-free, the student will have to attend check-ups once a month for the next two years.
About 70 cases are diagnosed in England each year. Patients are usually around 40 years old when they discover they have the disease.
In addition to pain, MPNSTs can cause lumps or swelling in the soft tissue under the skin.
The disease can recur, despite treatment. It can also spread throughout the body, like other cancers.