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On the morning of her daughter\u2019s first chemotherapy treatment, Meagan Xydias was told her 2-year-old would never be able to scuba dive as a result of one of the potentially life-saving drugs she was about to receive.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat made me cry so hard,\u201d Xydias, a teacher in Georgia, told Fox News.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I don\u2019t know why. I was like, \u2018She won\u2019t be able to be in the Navy.\u2019 We\u2019re not even a scuba-diving family. I\u2019ve never even done it before but thinking about those small things that will affect her for the rest of her life \u2014 she\u2019ll have to look back and say \u2018Oh I got cancer, so now I can\u2019t do this, or I can\u2019t do that. But it\u2019s part of her story now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two weeks ago, Meagan and Michael Xydias brought their youngest child, McKenna \u201cKenni\u201d Shea, to the doctor after weeks of on-again-off-again fevers, irritability, picky eating and bloating in her stomach.<\/p>\n
The family had recently moved and switched pediatricians, while also introducing Kenni to a new daycare, so her symptoms didn\u2019t seem overtly alarming to anyone.<\/p>\n
But an X-ray on Feb. 14 revealed that Kenni\u2019s bowels were full. After hearing several times that Kenni was likely suffering from constipation or gas, Meagan Xydias said she pushed for more answers and they were sent to Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta Scottish Rite Hospital for an ultrasound.<\/p>\n
The concerned parents would soon learn that their daughter\u2019s symptoms were actually the result of cancerous tumors that had been growing in her body.<\/p>\n
Kenni\u2019s tumors were officially diagnosed as stage 3 yolk sac ovarian cancer, the result of germ cell tumors that typically form in the reproductive organs of children, but can also appear in other areas including neck, chest, abdomen, tailbone, pelvis or brain.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were blindsided, we thought it was constipation,\u201d Xydias said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the very worst, we thought maybe she would have to have surgery to empty her bowels, but we never thought it was going to be cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Germ cell tumors only account for about 3 percent of all childhood cancers, according to St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital, which also states that there is no known reason for why they develop, but that it is more common in people with certain inherited disorders.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think my husband believed that she being 2 years old could have ovarian cancer,\u201d Xydias said. \u201cMe, I was stuck on the cancer part.\u201d<\/p>\n
Surgery to remove the tumors, as well as chemotherapy to attack the remaining cancerous cells, is typically the recommended course of treatment.<\/p>\n
Kenni\u2019s surgeons removed some of the tumors, along with her right ovary and five inches of her small intestine, and now she faces four rounds of chemotherapy.<\/p>\n
A part of her treatment plan, Kenni is participating in a study that involves three chemotherapy drugs, including one that may have less severe side effects than another currently available, which can leave patients with long-term hearing loss.<\/p>\n
Xydias said they don\u2019t talk percentages with Kenni\u2019s team, but that doctors are confident the tumors will respond to the chemotherapy.<\/p>\n
Xydias said once she learned that the cancer was attacking her daughter\u2019s ovaries, she grew concerned about her future fertility, but the low dose of chemotherapy puts her at a lower risk of affecting her remaining ovary.<\/p>\n
Xydias said that once Kenni hits puberty they will return to assess any damage.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe doesn\u2019t like people in scrubs anymore after being poked and prodded,\u201d Xydias said of her daughter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think in the past two days she\u2019s opened up quite a bit more. She\u2019s giving people the \u2018Kenni eye,\u2019 like \u2018Are you going to touch me or are you here to talk to Mom and dad?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Her smile has also returned, something that her mom said had disappeared for several \u201cheartbreaking\u201d days.<\/p>\n
Kenni\u2019s room is filled with stuffed animals, which she has been using as a barrier between her and the doctors.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe takes [the stuffed animals] and covers herself with them and hides in them to hide from the doctors,\u201d Xydias said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe doctors accessed her port to start chemo and as soon as they were done she hid the port under her teddy bear. She\u2019s a very smart 2-year-old.\u201d<\/p>\n