In 2000, right before Althea's 3rd birthday, she seemed to be sick all the time. We even had to cancel her and her twin sister's birthday party because she wasn't feeling well. At first, it seemed to be a cold or a virus, then a stomach bug. Finally, at Althea's 3-year annual check-up, her pediatrician found a mass in her abdomen the size of a small football. Within a week, Althea was admitted into Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to undergo treatment for stage IV neuroblastoma, the same cancer as Alex Scott. At that time, CHOP was just beginning a new neuroblastoma protocol and we were excited for Althea to be the first person on it. Her treatment included 5 rounds of chemotherapy, a surgery to remove the tumor, 2 stem cell transplants, 2 weeks of local radiation and 6 months of Accutane. She proceeded through the chemotherapy, surgery and the first stem cell transplant like a champ. She always had a positive attitude and was a very cooperative patient; but if it wasn't for the skilled nurses and doctors at CHOP, Althea's success would not have been possible.

It was only during the second stem cell transplant that she developed the Epstein Barr Virus from her own stem cells that were given back to her in transplant. She was in the hospital for almost 2 months, in and out of the intensive care unit. Althea's will to survive was nothing short of miraculous. During one ICU visit, she needed breathing assistance and the doctors wanted to try a
C-PAP device which includes a mask that Althea had to keep on her face 24/7. Rarely does a 3-year-old patient allow the mask to be on at all, let alone 24 hours a day. Althea kept the C-PAP on for a whole week until she could breathe again on her own. During this time, Althea also developed a lymphoproliferative disorder (LPD) in her liver that was treated with a highly-experimental drug, Rituximab. We were incredibly thankful that we were at CHOP where treatments like this were readily available. After surviving the Epstein Barr Virus and LPD, the radiation that followed went exceptionally well; almost exactly one year after we started treatment, Althea was done. The only thing left was to return to normal. It took almost a month for her to begin eating again and she was still not talking much. After some physical and speech therapy plus 3 months in quarantine, Althea was back, a part of the world.

She spent her high school years involved with the Keystone State choir, traveling nationally and internationally to Baltimore, Richmond, South Africa and India. She also volunteered with Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation as a founding member of her high school Lemon Club and worked for the school tech department. Since graduating high school, Althea conducted cancer research at the University of California, San Francisco for three summers, including one summer as an ALSF POST Scholar. Althea graduated from Harvey Mudd College in May of 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, graduating with High Distinction and Honors in Chemistry and the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Arts. She is now a medical student at the University of California, San Diego pursuing both MD and PhD degrees.

Yes, Althea suffers from a number of side effects from the toxicity of the chemo like high frequency hearing loss, kidney cysts, hypothyroidism, and growth difficulties, but she handles them like the same survivor that pulled through the year-long treatment when she was 3 years old. I think that most people can attest that going through cancer treatment as a child gives children a maturity and perception not commonly found in their peers. Althea continues to amaze us every day.

Written by Amy Hansel, Althea's Mom
Updated September 2019