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Zoe Figuera is a small girl from outside San Diego who has just completed sixteen months of intensive treatment for a cancer called neuroblastoma. The end of the treatment coincided with Zoe's eighth birthday. At her party, Zoe decided that the best way to celebrate was to give gifts to other kids.
"Zoe is remarkable," said her mother, Sheena Figueroa, at NBC's Today Show. She said, "I have everything I need."
Zoe's cancer was stage 4, which meant that it had spread throughout her body and that her treatment had to be particularly severe. She has undergone chemotherapy, stem cell transplantation, radiation, surgery and immunotherapy.
RELATED: Congratulations, Grad! Beyonce Howells, who survived childhood cancer, is finishing high school with her mother at her side
At the time of her birthday, Zoe wanted all the gifts to be donated to the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Los Angeles so that other children could be happy.
Zoe's birthday was a big party. Sheena said she wanted the party to feel like a quinceañera, which, in many Hispanic families, is a celebration of femininity that usually takes place at the age of fifteen.
"We do not know what the future holds for Zoe. The relapse rate for neuroblastoma is 50% and there is no cure for relapsed neuroblastoma, "Sheena continued. "We are optimistic, but we wanted to shoot all the bells and whistles just in case."
Information about neuroblastoma in children
Neuroblastoma accounts for about 7 to 10% of all pediatric cancers in the United States and about 800 new cases are identified each year. According to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, it is responsible for more than 50% of cancers diagnosed in children under one year of age.
RELATED: A love story between teens and overcoming cancer: Meet Sophie and Haydn
Neuroblastoma develops from nerve cells of the fetus and often affects the small glands located above the kidneys, called adrenal glands, but can be found in other places such as the abdomen, chest, the neck or spine. The abdomen is the main main vision. Some forms of this cancer will disappear spontaneously from themselves, but for most children, treatment such as surgery, chemotherapy and / or radiation therapy is necessary.
The signs of neuroblastoma vary depending on the size of the tumor and its possible extension. If the child has a tumor in the abdomen, he may have a stomach ache, lose weight or have a bigger abdomen. Some children only complain of general pain.
For children with the so-called "low-risk disease", diagnosed before the age of one or with only small, easily removed tumors, usually undergo simple surgery with careful follow-up .
Children with "intermediate-risk disease," meaning that the tumor is larger and has not spread, or that it is a baby whose cancer has spread, the treatment includes usually a combination of surgery and chemotherapy.
About half of patients with neuroblastoma have a high-risk disease, either because the tumor has spread to other parts of the body, or because the test results show high-risk characteristics. For children with this level of risk, treatment may combine chemotherapy, surgery and radiation therapy, including proton therapy, as well as high-dose chemotherapy followed by its own stem cell rescue. This may also include immunotherapy, which uses the body's immune system to fight the disease.
Birthday of Zoé
Zoe's birthday party was scheduled for July 6 and, upon invitation, Zoe asked her guests to bring an unwrapped toy or donate to local foundations for children with neuroblastoma. His friends and family made a total donation of $ 750 and 200 gifts.
"It's our way of giving back by celebrating Zoe's life," Sheena said.
His party was held in a War Veterans Room in El Cajon, California, near the family's home. The party brought together makeup artists, balloon artists and a mobile gaming truck.
Zoe's mother posted photos of Zoe in a gold and white dress with a gold band on Facebook, smiling at her friends and dancing with the caption "Celebrating the end of Zoe's treatment".
Sheena does not need to spend as much time in the hospital as when she was sick, but she stays in touch with some of the people encountered in the cancer community, including a couple whose neuroblastoma was diagnosed the same day. was told that she was in remission. "We talk regularly. I know they're scared just like us, Sheena said. "I tell them that there is hope."
Learn more about the rigorous medical review process of SurvivorNet.
Zoe Figuera is a small girl from outside San Diego who has just completed sixteen months of intensive treatment for a cancer called neuroblastoma. The end of the treatment coincided with Zoe's eighth birthday. At her party, Zoe decided that the best way to celebrate was to give gifts to other kids.
"Zoe is remarkable," said her mother, Sheena Figueroa, at NBC's Today Show. She said, "I have everything I need."
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Zoe's cancer was stage 4, which meant that it had spread throughout her body and that her treatment had to be particularly severe. She has undergone chemotherapy, stem cell transplantation, radiation, surgery and immunotherapy.
RELATED: Congratulations, Grad! Beyonce Howells, who survived childhood cancer, is finishing high school with her mother at her side
At the time of her birthday, Zoe wanted all the gifts to be donated to the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Los Angeles so that other children could be happy.
Zoe's birthday was a big party. Sheena said she wanted the party to feel like a quinceañera, which, in many Hispanic families, is a celebration of femininity that usually takes place at the age of fifteen.
"We do not know what the future holds for Zoe. The relapse rate for neuroblastoma is 50% and there is no cure for relapsed neuroblastoma, "Sheena continued. "We are optimistic, but we wanted to shoot all the bells and whistles just in case."
Information about neuroblastoma in children
Neuroblastoma accounts for about 7 to 10% of all pediatric cancers in the United States and about 800 new cases are identified each year. According to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, it is responsible for more than 50% of cancers diagnosed in children under one year of age.
RELATED: A love story between teens and overcoming cancer: Meet Sophie and Haydn
Neuroblastoma develops from nerve cells of the fetus and often affects the small glands located above the kidneys, called adrenal glands, but can be found in other places such as the abdomen, chest, the neck or spine. The abdomen is the main main vision. Some forms of this cancer will disappear spontaneously from themselves, but for most children, treatment such as surgery, chemotherapy and / or radiation therapy is necessary.
The signs of neuroblastoma vary depending on the size of the tumor and its possible extension. If the child has a tumor in the abdomen, he may have a stomach ache, lose weight or have a bigger abdomen. Some children only complain of general pain.
For children with the so-called "low-risk disease", diagnosed before the age of one or with only small, easily removed tumors, usually undergo simple surgery with careful follow-up .
Children with "intermediate-risk disease," meaning that the tumor is larger and has not spread, or that it is a baby whose cancer has spread, the treatment includes usually a combination of surgery and chemotherapy.
About half of patients with neuroblastoma have a high-risk disease, either because the tumor has spread to other parts of the body, or because the test results show high-risk characteristics. For children with this level of risk, treatment may combine chemotherapy, surgery and radiation therapy, including proton therapy, as well as high-dose chemotherapy followed by its own stem cell rescue. This may also include immunotherapy, which uses the body's immune system to fight the disease.
Birthday of Zoé
Zoe's birthday party was scheduled for July 6 and, upon invitation, Zoe asked her guests to bring an unwrapped toy or donate to local foundations for children with neuroblastoma. His friends and family made a total donation of $ 750 and 200 gifts.
"It's our way of giving back by celebrating Zoe's life," Sheena said.
His party was held in a War Veterans Room in El Cajon, California, near the family's home. The party brought together makeup artists, balloon artists and a mobile gaming truck.
Zoe's mother posted photos of Zoe in a gold and white dress with a gold band on Facebook, smiling at her friends and dancing with the caption "Celebrating the end of Zoe's treatment".
Sheena does not need to spend as much time in the hospital as when she was sick, but she stays in touch with some of the people encountered in the cancer community, including a couple whose neuroblastoma was diagnosed the same day. was told that she was in remission. "We talk regularly. I know they're scared just like us, Sheena said. "I tell them that there is hope."
Learn more about the rigorous medical review process of SurvivorNet.
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