Being told that your child has cancer is hard enough, but hearing that on four different occasions is “utterly devastating”, admits Northland mum Hannah Whitehead.
Hannah’s daughter Frankie, nine, was first diagnosed with blood cancer when she was three. She has since been through multiple rounds of chemotherapy, immunotherapy, two bone marrow transplants and cell treatment in Australia.
Despite these painful procedures, Frankie has relapsed three times.
“Hearing a doctor tell you that your daughter’s cancer is back is beyond devastating,” shares the doting mum.
Hannah and her husband Dylan were just 23 when doctors diagnosed Frankie with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
“Both Frankie and her younger brother Leo were always healthy, and didn’t even suffer from colds,” says Hannah, who works in brand marketing for a children’s clothing company.
“But just after Frankie’s third birthday, teachers sent her home from daycare with a fever that wouldn’t go away, so we took her to the after-hours clinic. There, doctors noticed some jaundice in her eyes and referred her to Whangārei Hospital for tests.”
When those tests uncovered ALL – a cancer diagnosed in around 75 Kiwis a year, the majority of them under five years old – Frankie was sent to Auckland’s Starship Hospital. That was the start of two years of chemotherapy treatments.
Despite losing her hair, Frankie was eventually well enough to start school. Life was getting back on track when Hannah and Dylan spent a rare weekend in Queenstown for Hannah’s 26th birthday.
“While we were away, my mother called to say she’d taken Frankie to the doctor as she had an infection,” recalls Hannah. “I had a gut feeling it wasn’t good and when we got home, doctors told us the leukaemia had returned.”
After learning chemotherapy wasn’t an option this time, doctors suggested a bone marrow transplant. Leo, seven, was found to be the closest match to his sister and the surgery went so well that after four months, Frankie was able to return home.
“We had 12 months of Frankie being really, really well,” tells Hannah. “She was doing well at school, having fun with her friends and even playing netball. Life was going back to normal.”
Frankie’s one-year check-up reinforced their sense of relief when doctors gave her the all-clear.
“But two weeks later, we found out her cancer was back,” says Hannah. “It absolutely floored us.”
Even worse, Frankie wasn’t able to have another bone marrow transplant since it was too close to her first procedure. Instead, doctors offered the family cell therapy in Brisbane, a treatment not available in New Zealand.
“All four of us stayed in accommodation provided by the Leukaemia Foundation for four months while Frankie was in hospital,” Hannah explains.
That treatment bought Frankie another nine months of good health. After relapsing last September, Dylan provided the bone marrow for his daughter’s second transplant.
Since then, Frankie has been in remission. But doctors have told Hannah and Dylan that if their daughter’s cancer comes back, there’s nothing further they can do.
“Knowing we have run out of options is tough, but it has totally changed our mindset,” she says. “We’re a family of four with two amazing kids and we live knowing that today could be the best day of our lives. I hope there are many beautiful days ahead, but I don’t want to waste today worrying about what might happen.”
Instead, the family is planning trips to see Coldplay perform in Auckland in November and to Sydney in February to see singer Billie Eilish.
“Frankie loves Billie and is always walking around the house singing,” says Hannah. “We know she’s not well when the house is quiet.”
Frankie’s illness has also affected the family’s finances.
Hannah tells, “Dylan used to own two garages, but it became too much to manage. So he sold the businesses and now does contract work, which gives him more flexibility. Luckily, my work has been really accommodating with all the time I’ve had to take off.”
Having been involved with Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand (LBC) for a number of years, Frankie is the face of the charity’s inaugural Shine for a Cure campaign, aimed at raising funds and awareness for the 21,000 Kiwis living with blood cancer. That included taking part in a 5km lantern walk and turning on the lights at Auckland’s Sky Tower.
“LBC has supported us on every step of this life-changing journey,” enthuses Hannah. “Our family is lucky to be where we are today. We want to support both LBC and other families going through the same thing.”
For more information about LBC or to donate, visit shineforacure.org.nz
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