Advocating for Her Daughter's Health
- 3-year-old Poppy Smith was complaining of stomach pain and showing blood in her urine back in January. Medical professionals over the phone with her mother said it was most likely a bladder infection.
- Poppy’s mom Hollie, 30, was having a hard time getting her into a doctor in person, but kept pushing. Due to her persistence, they finally received a shocking diagnosis: it was kidney cancer.
- Now in the midst of chemotherapy treatment after a successful kidney surgery, the little girl is thankfully in good spirits, though she doesn’t quite understand the long road ahead of her.
- Advocating for your own health is one thing, but being a voice for a helpless child is vital and getting them the care they need is the best gift you can ever give them.
Poppy had to give a urine sample and they were given antibiotic. As symptoms persisted, they went back in to give another sample. Hollie insisted her little girl see a doctor in person. “I remember arguing with the receptionist and saying that she really just needs to see someone,” the determined mother shared with MEN Media.
Read More“She didn’t understand much of what was going on, just that she had to take her ‘nasty medicine,'” her mom said, referring to the chemotherapy treatment that her child would have to suffer through.
Holly needed four weeks of chemo just to reduce the size of the tumor in order to have surgery, then additionally, would need to be on treatment for roughly half the year.
“The really confusing part for her was when her hair started to fall out,” Hollie said. It’s growing back a little now but she has more chemo to come, so I’ve let her know that she will probably lose it again.”
Chemotherapy Side EffectsHair Loss
The good news is, Poppy was able to have surgery last month, and her medical team said that just four weeks of chemo had shrunk the tumor considerably.
“We went in on a Wednesday and we were out on the Sunday,” Hollie said. “Even though she was having such a major operation, Poppy never stopped being our bubbly and chatty girl. She is always so cheeky and confident the only ever time she’s not is when she’s been given morphine and in a lot pain, which would be horrible for anyone, let alone a three-year-old.”
The most devastating part is the little girl lis unable to see her friends, understandably because of her compromised immune system.
Hollie and her husband Hugo, along with Hollie’s mother, have all taken time off work to collaboratively care for little Poppy.
“She really is so brave, no matter what gets thrown at her,” her mom expressed. “She is still smiling, I'm so proud to call her my daughter."
The Impact of a Childhood Cancer Diagnosis on the Whole Family
Understanding Kidney Cancer
Kidney cancers can develop in adults or children. This year, roughly 79,000 new cases of kidney cancer (50,290 in men and 28,710 in women) will be diagnosed. In general, men have nearly double the risk of kidney cancer compared to women.
Kidney cancer can be treated with surgery, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, or a combination of these different treatments. It can be assumed that Copeland had surgery to remove her tumor, but we don't know as to whether it was an open surgery or a robotically assisted surgery.
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), signs and symptoms of kidney cancer can include the following:
- Blood in the urine (hematuria
- Low back pain on one side (not caused by injury)
- A mass (lump) on the side or lower back
- Fatigue (tiredness)
- Loss of appetit
- Weight loss without trying
- Fever that is not caused by an infection and that doesn't go away
- Anemia (low red blood cell counts)
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
