Honored Kid

Alivia N. Elphinstone

Age 18
Alivia N. Elphinstone Kid Photo

Location

Renfrew, PA, US

Diagnosis

Lymphoma

Date of Diagnosis

July 2007

Status

Cancer-free

Treated At

Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh

Change your kid's logo

My Story

Alivia was diagnosed with Lymphoblastic Lymphoma on July 13, 2007. The first sign appeared as a small bump on the top of her head. Her pediatrician thought it was a spider bite that would go away in a week or two but when it started growing, we decided to take her to a dermatologist. The dermatologist told us that it was a cyst and said it wouldn’t get any larger. After it had tripled in size, we wanted it removed. The surgeon suggested that it was a ruptured cyst, and schedule Alivia for surgery. During surgery he decided to take a biopsy of it after seeing that it was something else. Two days later, we were confirmed of a parent's worst nightmare...our child had cancer. She showed no signs at all of being sick and what her body was going through except that bump on her head that grew to the size of approx 1/3 the size of a golf ball. Shortly after that, Alivia underwent surgery again to place a mediport under her skin that would be accessed on a regular basis to administer all of her chemotherapy and other medications. Her treatment plan lasted for the next 24 months with her losing all of her hair twice along the way. Despite her very limited immune system and exhaustion at times, she was still a very bright spirited little girl who loved to play and wouldn’t let it get her down. We have met some wonderful families along the way that were dealing with the same fears and hopeful wishes of their children defeating their battle with cancer too. Unfortunately several of those children lost their battles and went on to a place where they will never have to deal with the pain and sickness anymore. Alivia has been out of treatment for 12 years now and is cancer free and doing great!!! She is now in the post 5 year survivorship program and goes to the clinic once every year for routine blood work & and checkup and will have to continue this for the rest of her life. She is currently in 11th grade and loves school, reading, drawing and spending time with her friends & little brother, Jacob. We are so blessed and thankful that Alivia was given a second chance in life. We are very grateful for organizations like St.Baldrick’s that help fund childhood cancer research so that children like Alivia can have a second chance also.

The Childhood Cancer Ripple Effect

Help Give Kids a Lifetime

Infants, children, teens and young adults are depending on us to find cures for childhood cancers — and to give survivors long and healthy lives.

Support lifesaving childhood cancer research today.

Photo submission policy

Please read the photo submission policy and accept below.

By submitting a photograph of yourself on www.StBaldricks.org, you agree to the following terms and conditions for submission of your photograph:

We strongly encourage all users to submit a before and after photo, so that donors and fellow participants can easily recognize and relate to one another.

Any photo containing cartoons, comics, celebrities, nudity, pornography, sexually explicit images or any copyrighted image (unless you own the copyright) is not permitted. This is because photos of celebrities and cartoon or comic images are generally copyrighted by the owner.

Uploading images of other people without their permission is also prohibited.

This photo submission policy applies to StBaldricks.org users. The St. Baldrick’s Foundation reserves the right to review all photos and to remove any photo for any reason at our sole discretion. If you see a photo on StBaldricks.org that you believe does not conform to this policy, email to WebQuestions@StBaldricks.org