Seeing one pupil significantly larger than the other in their daughter's eyes, the parents of three-year-old Audrey Saulters wondered what would cause such a thing.
A week later, there was a nickel-sized lump on the side of Audrey's neck.
Audrey was seen by a doctor right away and the visit was followed up with a biopsy on July 29, 2013. On Aug. 1, with a tennis ball-sized lump now on her neck, just five weeks after finding the tumor in the first place, Audrey and mom, Pam, and dad, Ryan, were sitting in B.C. Childrens' Hospital, reeling from a cancer diagnosis. Seven-year-old son, Easton, stayed with Pam's parents in Prince George.
Audrey's type of cancer is called embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma.
Childhood rhabdomyosarcoma is a disease in which malignant cells form in muscle tissue. Rhabdomyosarcoma is a type of sarcoma. Sarcoma is a cancer of soft tissue, such as muscle, connective tissue, such as tendon or cartilage, or bone. Rhabdomyosarcoma usually begins in muscles that are attached to bones and help the body move and is the most common type of soft tissue sarcoma in children.
To find out how to best approach treatment, the first two days in hospital were spent having a CT scan, a PET scan, and surgery to insert a port to access veins in Audrey's upper chest to more easily administer chemotherapy. The next day the fight against the rapidly-growing tumor began.
"There was a 42-week chemo plan," said Pam. "And a couple months in she did six weeks of radiation but the radiation was specialized and we had to go to Seattle for that."
During this time, Ryan, who had to return to work, and Easton would travel back and forth to visit with Audrey and Pam as often as they could.
The nagging question on the family's mind was why did Audrey get cancer?
"Bad luck," said Pam. "Our radiologist said there's no reason for this, it's just bad luck. To say it's bad luck isn't enough but - it's bad luck."
When put into a situation suddenly like this, it doesn't occur to parents of where they'll be sleeping at night. Ryan stayed with Audrey in her tiny room, and Pam had to get a hotel room. There was a three-week waiting list for Ronald McDonald House at the time.
"When you're sitting in the hospital you're around sick kids and dying kids, you don't see any survivors, so I think that's the hardest part," said Pam about the experience.
Trying to keep a positive attitude throughout treatment far away from home, Pam was grateful for the friendly atmosphere at Ronald McDonald House which is launching a campaign to help raise funds for a new facility. A donation of $75 pays for one night's stay for a family at Ronald McDonald House.
"When we stepped into Ronald McDonald House it was like stepping into a community of people who knew exactly what we were going through," said Pam. "The connections we make at Ronald McDonald House are like life preservers in tragedy. We are all there under such tragic circumstances, that we become so close to each other, so quickly. We're thrown in there together and grab onto each other like our lives depend on it. We grow so attached because our walls are broken down and we are so vulnerable to each other. It creates some pretty amazing relationships based on very real, raw experiences. And when you're having a bad day, you never have to go through it alone."
Audrey just completed her last chemo treatment last week.
"At the end of June, Audrey will have scans to see if the cancer is gone," said Pam. "She'll have to see a ton of specialists to look after the after effects of the chemo and radiation and then as long as everything checks out we won't have to go back for three months."
There's some uncertainty about the long-term effects of Audrey's chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
"Anything from fertility issues, fibroid issues, and hearing, eye sight and dental issues, and skin cancer," said Pam. These are all things to watch for in her now four-year-old daughter.
But other effects are inevitable.
"Audrey will have a facial deformity because of the radiation, so as she grows it will become more noticeable," said Pam.
The Saulters family is one of more than a thousand Prince George families to use the 13-room Ronald McDonald House in its 30-year history. That number will grow as the new 73-room Ronald McDonald House will open this month at BC Children's Hospital.
Along with the private guest room, with a five-piece ensuite, each room is equipped with the latest systems to ensure the healthy environment necessary for children with suppressed immune systems so families can stay together.
Families can enjoy all the amenities at the House including fully equipped kitchens to make meals, dining rooms, a sports court
and playground, games room, Wi-Fi zones and computer stations, and an arts and
crafts and music room. The goal is to ask citizens throughout the province to donate 30,000 nights which will keep 73 families together every night for a year. To donate visit www.rmhbc.ca/how-to-help/gift-a-night.
