Langford resident Hannah Day has passed a milestone in her struggle against leukemia, her second cancer diagnoses in her short life.
Mother Brooke Ervin said four-year-old Hannah, who underwent a stem cell transplant with her mother as host, has had a recent biopsy come back revealing there are currently no traces of the cancer in her blood.
“My stem cells are doing the job that (doctors) hoped that they would,” Ervin said. “She’s thriving. The doctors can’t believe it. They just went in there and they’re chasing her around and joking with her and tickling her.”
Hannah has been discharged from B.C. Children’s Hospital, though still has to attend clinic up to four times per week, keeping her family in Vancouver.
“That’s the hugest and best news we could ever ask for,” Ervin said of the discharge.
At the time of writing Day was on Day 54 since the transplant, with Day 100 being the big goal to get to. The process is causing Hannah to break out in burns, as the stem cells attack her body and burn her from the inside, Ervin said. This is an expected side effect, she added.
Despite the good news, Ervin is still being told there is a 60 per cent chance of a relapse, and if that happens there are no other treatment options, as the transplant has been Hannah’s last hope for health.
The mood is high for all, even if the family isn’t in the clear quite yet.
“As of right now we’re in the best situation we could ever ask for,” Ervin said.
Help from community groups and donations back home is keeping the family going, Ervin said, especially with the cost of living temporarily in Vancouver.
“They all wished me a happy Mother’s Day, which is sweet,” Ervin said. “We would never be where we are without everybody back home, it’s unbelievable to see what they’ve done for us.”