hepatoblastoma

Dr. Edward Prochownik is a past St. Baldrick’s Research Grant recipient and is The Paul C. Gaffney Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. In this blog post, he answers the question “What Is Hepatoblastoma,” and shares some other information about the cancer, its treatment, prevalence, and why research is so important.

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Sara Ferrante was diagnosed with a rare form of childhood cancer when she was just two months old. Now she is 25 years cancer free and works as a registered nurse.

My name is Sara, and I am 25 years old. For the most part, I am an average woman in her mid 20s. I work. I pay bills. I spend time with my friends and family on the weekends. But there is something else that most people can’t see from the outside. I am a childhood cancer survivor. And this year, I am 25 years cancer free.

When I was 2 months old, I was diagnosed with hepatoblastoma, a rare form of childhood liver cancer. After nine rounds of chemo and a surgery where they removed 80% of my liver, I was cancer free.

As a child, I was embarrassed to tell people that I was a cancer survivor. I didn’t fully understand how miraculous it was that I not only survived, but that I have very few long term effects of my treatment. I hid my scars and never spoke about it. It wasn’t until I was in high school that I changed my mind.

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