OREGON CITY, Ore. — (KGW) It is the season of giving and for some that means giving thanks.
The Stocks family in Oregon City, Oregon has plenty to be thankful for.
In December 2016, Christina Stocks started noticing little changes in the way her 20-month-old daughter Cheyenne walked.
She was walking around, but needed to hold onto walls, chairs or whatever was around to keep her balance. Her mom took her to the pediatrician to get a checkup and was immediately referred to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital to get checked out further.
Two days later, Cheyenne underwent an MRI exam and then waited for the results.
“We had this whole team of doctors that came in and she wasn’t even back yet. So right then I knew. I knew it wasn’t good,” said Christina Stocks, Cheyenne’s mom.
Doctors performed surgery on her back and removed a portion of a tumor attacking her central nervous system. Tests confirmed it was cancerous.
“It’s Anaplastic Ependymoma. So it’s considered a fast-growing tumor. Out of the different types of ependymomas it’s the more aggressive of them,” Christina said.
A second surgery was done to remove what was left and the family had high hopes there wasn’t anything left.
“We went in six weeks later and we were feeling totally positive that we’re going have a good MRI and then we got the results that it was back,” Christina said.
Except this time it had grown to about one-third the size of the original tumor. It was growing fast and aggressively. Doctors performed surgery once again on 2-year-old Cheyenne.
This time, it was more successful.
The toddler would have to undergo more than two-dozen rounds of radiation in an effort to eradicate the tumor.
“Luckily, that worked because your body can only handle so much radiation,” Christina said.
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