Genie's NeuroEndocrine Tumor Awareness

On October 16th, Genie underwent an emergency appendectomy. The previous day, she had complained of severe abdominal pain, which proceeded to get worse and then was followed by fever and chills. Scans at the Emergency Room confirmed that she had Appendicitis and surgery was scheduled A.S.A.P! The surgery went well and we felt we could proceed with her recovery so that she could quickly return to her active and sassy 13 year old life! :-) A few days later, we meet with her surgeon for a follow-up but, there was more to the appointment; Genie's pathology report revealed that inside of her appendix was a cancerous Grade 1 Neuroendocrine tumor.

On October 25th, she required another surgery called a robotic colectomy and had her entire acsending colon removed. Due to the size of the tumor (2.3cm), there is plenty of data showing a chance of spreading. We won't know for certain until the pathology report comes back.

The surgeons are confident the cancer didn't spread to her lymphnodes. She is recovering well and anxious to get back to her adolescence. She misses being able to participate in Swim Team, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Choir, Band and seeing all of her friends at Three Rivers Home Link! We've had an incredible amount of emotional support from our loved ones and they've kindly encouraged us to reach out to our community. We hope for the best of health and love to all out there that are going through tough times. We are a truly blessed family, we've felt loved and supported by so many.

Thank you!

The Norman Family

(Bren, Rebekah, Genie, Isabel, Osker & Grandma Nita)