Family of Heroes

Welcome to the SickKids Believe campaign.

Share on Facebook Email To Friend Print

Font Size:

Meet Caitlin

• More about Caitlin

• View her print ad

• Family of Heroes

• View all webisodes
• Listen to radio stories
• Family of Heroes FAQ
• Return to the Family of Heroes page
• 

In November 2004, Caitlin was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a rapidly progressive cancer arising from white blood cells in the bone marrow. ALL is the most common type of leukemia, and the most common malignancy in young children.

Caitlin, Lymphoblastic leukemia

She had just turned two and everyone thought she was the picture of health. But her mother Natalie was concerned about her stomach, which seemed to be distended. She took Caitlin to their family doctor, who sent them to her local hospital for blood tests.  Doctors there knew something wasn’t right and immediately transferred her to SickKids for further examination.
In the Emergency department, doctors re-ran all the blood tests to confirm the diagnosis. Caitlin was admitted to the Haematology/Oncology inpatient unit, where she had to endure even more tests. Doctors discovered that many of her organs were enlarged from the disease, and started her on chemotherapy immediately.

Caitlin was initially at SickKids for over seven weeks. Although she responded well to treatment, she had her ups and downs. When she first started chemotherapy, there were numerous complications, including several bouts of bowel inflammation. Since many of the chemotherapy drugs she was taking can result in pneumatosis, her treatment had to be delayed until she recovered. She was so ill at one point that the Critical Care team at SickKids was on standby in case she had to be transferred to the Critical Care Unit (CCU).

She received chemotherapy as an outpatient at her local hospital, which was set up as one of the satellite oncology centers. There, paediatricians and nurses trained at Sickkids administered chemotherapy and took care of central lines.  Though she was treated at a satellite local hospital, she still came to SickKids every 12 weeks for check-ups, blood tests and lumbar punctures.

Caitlin recently celebrated a big milestone – she finished her chemotherapy treatment for the leukemia she’s fought for two-and-a-half years.

Each year, SickKids sees approximately 320 new cancer patients, representing more than 25 per cent of all new cases of paediatric cancer in Canada. One third of the patients admitted to SickKids for cancer treatment have leukemia. ALL is the most common type of leukemia found in children.  In Ontario, SickKids is the only children’s hospital that provides the full range of treatments for children requiring the most complex cancer treatments: chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, bone marrow transplantation and palliative care. 

Donations Make the Difference: Giving to SickKids is truly a heroic gesture. Your donations help children like Caitlin every day. You fund research breakthroughs that mean less pain for children, a higher survival rate, and less time in the hospital. Please give generously now.