After being blessed with a healthy, lively little girl in January of 2005, we were equally elated upon discovering we were going to have a baby boy in November of 2006. Lincoln arrived and was a delight to all, not only in watching him develop as a person, but also in his relationship with his big sister, Lily.  When a large mass was detected by his daycare teacher after swim class on his right upper thigh, we immediately took him to his pediatrician, who in turn sent us to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for further tests and evaluation. We had thought we were prepared to deal with the expected childrearing issues (i.e. stranger danger, healthy habits, etc.) but had never considered the unexpected--a cancer diagnosis. Lincoln’s doctor believed the tumor to have been growing for quite some time and that a blood vessel had most likely burst which caused the sudden swelling, allowing us to notice the tumor.  Lincoln had been to the same doctor's office the week before for a well-child visit and given a clean bill of health.
 
Lincoln's dad drove home from a five-week job training in Atlanta, GA to be close while we learned the prognosis and course of treatment for our dear little one.  While somewhat soothed to hear of a rather optimistic cure rate for Lincoln's specific type of rhabdomyosarcoma (embryonal), it never sounds good enough to hear anything but 100% recovery (which I'm sure all parents wish was the case after enduring surgeries, long chemotherapy sessions, hospital admissions, and more).  Lincoln responded well to chemotherapy and it wasn't long after diagnosis that he went into surgery to remove the tumor, which despite shrinking considerably, was still quite large. A month long radiation course followed, along with the recommended cycles of long and short chemotherapy sessions and GCSF shots to help cut his white cell recovery time in half.  
 
We have been blessed to have spent the majority of Lincoln's treatment out of the hospital (except for surgeries and one ER visit for a fever), and we have come to witness what has always been said about CHOP--they are truly wonderful.  As we come to the close of treatment for Lincoln, we begin a whole new chapter in this journey, the wait to see if the cancer will stay gone, or return. We hope that we will reach the five-year mark to be considered 'cured' (the only current cure available).  Along the way we have been blessed by family, friends, and more who have been more than our rocks. We hope to do more for Alex's Lemonade Stand and other foundations for childhood cancer and in turn, to all families who have been there, are there, or will be there. It is truly a life transforming event and support is there, use it to stay strong for your loved one.

Written by Jennifer Humbles, Lincoln’s Mother
06/09