Team Ellie
Donation protected
TEAM ELLIE
Elizabeth (Ellie) Swanson is 6 years old. Through the month of January beginning of February Ellie was being treated for a common cold that was thought to have gone into acute bronchitis with asthma. On February 13th, when Ellie was not responding to the antibiotics, Ellie’s doctor felt she had come down with pneumonia and a chest x-ray was ordered only to discover Ellie had a mass in her left lung.
On February 21st, Ellie’s parents TJ and Melissa learned their daughter had ganglioneuroblastoma a cancerous tumor. This is a type of neuroblastoma, meaning that it develops from nerve cells. Ganglioneuroblastoma has a spectrum of seriousness from high risk to low risk. It is an intermediate tumor that has both cancerous (malignant) and non-cancerous (benign) cells that grow in nerve tissues. These tumors are rare and occurs in fewer than five out of one million children each year.
Ellie is in the intermediate risk category. The tumor has not spread as these types of tumors normally do. This means it is not on the more malignant and aggressive side of the spectrum. It is benign in terms of it being on the curable end of the neuroblastoma spectrum.
The tumor is approx. 10 centimeters (size of two adult male fists), Ellie will have four rounds of chemotherapy taking about four to six months to shrink the tumor, in between each round she will get to come home for a short while. After the tumor shrinks from around her lung and backs away from her spinal fluid, they will do surgery to remove it.
It is going to be a long road ahead but TJ and Melissa were given a light at the end of the tunnel. Their little angel is going to get better, one day, one moment at a time. With prayers and the support of amazing friends and the whole community, this family will make it through the fight of Ellie’s life.
Our hope is to raise enough money to ease the worries of medical bills and travel expenses during these months of treatment-giving Ellie the hope of a long life
Elizabeth (Ellie) Swanson is 6 years old. Through the month of January beginning of February Ellie was being treated for a common cold that was thought to have gone into acute bronchitis with asthma. On February 13th, when Ellie was not responding to the antibiotics, Ellie’s doctor felt she had come down with pneumonia and a chest x-ray was ordered only to discover Ellie had a mass in her left lung.
On February 21st, Ellie’s parents TJ and Melissa learned their daughter had ganglioneuroblastoma a cancerous tumor. This is a type of neuroblastoma, meaning that it develops from nerve cells. Ganglioneuroblastoma has a spectrum of seriousness from high risk to low risk. It is an intermediate tumor that has both cancerous (malignant) and non-cancerous (benign) cells that grow in nerve tissues. These tumors are rare and occurs in fewer than five out of one million children each year.
Ellie is in the intermediate risk category. The tumor has not spread as these types of tumors normally do. This means it is not on the more malignant and aggressive side of the spectrum. It is benign in terms of it being on the curable end of the neuroblastoma spectrum.
The tumor is approx. 10 centimeters (size of two adult male fists), Ellie will have four rounds of chemotherapy taking about four to six months to shrink the tumor, in between each round she will get to come home for a short while. After the tumor shrinks from around her lung and backs away from her spinal fluid, they will do surgery to remove it.
It is going to be a long road ahead but TJ and Melissa were given a light at the end of the tunnel. Their little angel is going to get better, one day, one moment at a time. With prayers and the support of amazing friends and the whole community, this family will make it through the fight of Ellie’s life.
Our hope is to raise enough money to ease the worries of medical bills and travel expenses during these months of treatment-giving Ellie the hope of a long life
Organizer
Amanda Celli
Organizer
Clearlake, CA