HOUSTON (FOX 26) -
Lajayda Cross, 4, started complaining of stomach pain almost one year ago. "I was getting sick," explains Cross. She has completed treatment for a rare disease called Wilms' Tumor (cancer of the kidneys).
Cross' mother, Jacqueline, took the girl to the family's pediatrician, who diagnosed her with constipation. A high-fiber diet did not help make the pain go away, in fact, it kept getting worse. This went on for months. Lajayda's symptoms went beyond a bellyache. It started getting difficult for her to walk and she eventually developed a high fever.
The family returned to the pediatrician's office.
"He says, it's still constipation."
Jacqueline suspected it was something much more severe than that, so she got a second opinion.
"He said, I want a CT scan to see what's wrong, and when he did, we saw what was wrong - a tumor," explains Jacqueline. Lajayda was immediately admitted to Texas Children's Hospital.
Specialists at TCH immediately recognized her problem. The tumor was the size of a pineapple inside her tiny abdomen. They explained it was something called Wilms' tumor.
"I cried, I didn't want to hear that. She (Lajayda) kept asking me, mommy why are you crying? I'm going to be okay!," says Jacqueline.
Surgeons removed the enormous tumor and one of Lajayda's kidneys.
"Her tumor was on the larger side, but not encasing any major structures, mainly just a kidney and coming up on her diaphragm and pushing her spleen or liver over," says Dr. Sanjeev Vasudevan, the girl's pediatric surgeon at TCH.
Dr. Vasudevan tells FOX 26 News that Wilms' Tumor is seldom fatal; however, Lajayda will have to get check-ups every few months for the next few years to make sure her cancer does not re-emerge. She has a large team of healthcare workers keeping an eye on her.
"That includes our Surgical Oncologists, Radiation Oncologists, Pediatric Oncologists, Radiologists, Nurses, Child Life Specialists, and Social Workers. She started off by having surgery and then that was followed by radiation therapy and chemotherapy," explains one of those specialists, pediatric oncologist Dr. Jodi Muscal.
Her "team" is relieved to see Lajayda feeling better!
"She's a delightful little girl; very spunky and has got a very unique personality, very unique little girl and very positive. She doesn't let this get her down," says Dr. Vasudevan.
Lajayda is now excited about growing her hair back, so that no one will confuse her with a boy again. Her mother says Lajayda loved not having hair at first, since she did not have to spend time brushing it, but when children started making fun of her with hair, it became difficult.
Only 500 children are diagnosed with Lajayda's condition each year, but most of them have a great prognosis. To prove that to Lajayda's family, Texas Children's Hospital set up a meeting for Lajayda and her family to meet a 28-year-old woman who was diagnosed with the same disease when she was a child, so they could see how well she is doing now. This gives Lajayda's family a lot of hope for her future.
On the Web:
Sanjeev A. Vasudevan, M.D. -- http://www.texaschildrens.org/Locate/Doctors/Vasudevan,-Sanjeev/
Jodi A. Muscal, M.D. -- http://www.texaschildrens.org/Locate/Doctors/Muscal,-Jodi/
