15 year old Lung Cancer Survivor Abby Wilson
I’m Abby. I am 15 yrs. old. I have a rare form of pediatric lung cancer. But cancer is not who I am. I am a brave and strong girl. God has given me the BEST family & friends. I love to play with my little brother, Ian. He is 6 years old. He makes me laugh & forget that I have sick lungs. I get scared sometimes. But I know that I have to trust God no matter what.
Background Story
Abby is amazing!! She makes me want to be the mother that God has called me to be. We found out that Abby was born with a rare disorder, C.C.P.M., Congenital Cystic Pulmonary malformation. In most cases this type of cyst is large enough to see and is discovered very early on in pregnancy(between 7-34 weeks gestation). It is removed after birth and the child is fine. This is not the case for Abby. She was born with a tumor that was small enough to go undetected and until 5 years ago, didn’t cause any problems. The asthma that we had been treating since she was 3 was actually this disease. C.C.P.M. is normally removed and there are no further problems. In even more rare cases, like Abby, when C.C.P.M. is not found and treated it can then become Bronchoalveolar Carcinoma or B.A.C. (that’s what the doctors call it). In order for B.A.C. to appear, C.C.P.M. has to be present. B.A.C. in children appears favorable, meaning they should only need surgery to cure it. However, that is not the case for Abby. Here is where the complications come in. Our oncologist, Dr. Rapkin, had all the pathology samples sent to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, AFIP, in Washington, D.C. for review and they found that the larger mass is actually another form of cancer called Mucinous Adenocarcinoma. This is more aggressive than B.A.C. Meaning that this one mass has moved from a stage 1 non aggressive type of cancer to a stage 4 more aggressive type. It has started to infiltrate the surrounding tissue of the lung. This infiltration was found to be minor, in the beginning stage. But the cancer has spread to the right lung resulting in more than 30 tumors in both lungs. Abby has undergone several surgeries since April 2007,one in which her lower left lung was removed leaving her with only 1/4 of a functioning lung and in October 2007 she began intensive chemo treatments and continues to this day. In 2008 we found out that Abby’s cancer is caused by the K-Ras mutation gene which just complicates our journey more. This gene makes her Lung Cancer more resistant to treatment. The road ahead is long and confusing for us all. Abby is a trooper. Her smile reminds us that God is good. He is the one who holds our future and our hope. Abby’s life verse is Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you a HOPE and a future.” We live by these words… God’s promise of a HOPE & a FUTURE for our Abby!
“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes” (Matthew 6:33-34). *** A friend has set up a medical fund for Abby at Piedmont Community Bank. All donations are to help with travel to Scottish Rite in Atlanta & medical cost that insurance doesn’t cover. If you feel lead, donations can be made checks payable to ‘Abby Wilson Medical Fund ‘ to- 315 River North Blvd Macon, GA. 31211. Thank you in advance for your gifts of love!!!!!
Abby Wilson is Changing the Face of Lung Cancer! from TEAM DRAFT on Vimeo.
Tags: abby willson, lung cancer, stage IV lung cancer, Team Draft. Changing the Face of Lung Cancer