Harlie is a very bubbly, outgoing 8-year-old girl who loves meeting new friends wherever she goes.  She loves to sing, dance and entertain and hopes to become a pop star! Harlie plays hockey on the 8U team in Warroad, Minnesota.

The day after Halloween 2013, Harlie came down with the symptoms of a cold. Soon after she had a fever and abdominal pain. Her mother brought her to the ER thinking it could be appendicitis.  Harlie was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection and given an antibiotic.  Four days later, she still had a fever and abdominal pain. This time she was diagnosed with a viral infection. A few days later the abdominal pain was even worse, and her mother brought Harlie back to the ER, where they ran a series of tests. The CT scan showed Harlie had a large mass.

At Sanford Children's Hospital/Roger Maris Cancer Center in Fargo, ND, Harlie had a biopsy that determined she had germ cell ovarian cancer. She had surgery to remove the very large tumor, three chemo treatments, and a second surgery to remove some remaining “questionable” spots on her abdomen. On February 20, 2014, Harlie and her family got the wonderful news that Harlie was cancer free!

Harlie still goes back regularly to the oncologist for checkups where they monitor her for re-occurrence and any long term/short term effects of the chemotherapy. Harlie may or may not be able to have children, however, she is still hopeful that she can have a family of her own someday, maybe through adoption.

For others going through a cancer journey, Harlie’s mother’s advice is to take it one day at a time and concentrate on the here and now.  “Set goals and take tiny steps to achieve those goals.  Spend as much time you can with your child and don't forget about the other siblings.” Harlie and her family hope that one day cancer will be a thing of the past.

Information provided by Jayne Corneliusen, Harlie’s mother
December 2014