Pregnant Mom of 11, Whose Toddler’s ‘Knee Pain’ Turned Out To Be Cancer, Urges Moms To ‘Trust Their Intuition!’

In a video to her TikTok followers, she explains their journey, and how her previously daily concerns feel much less important today, given Donavan’s cancer. “My biggest problems in life were a permanent ban on TikTok, my kids not doing their chores, constantly having to clean the house. But my youngest was constantly complaining of knee pain, so we made the decision to take him to the ER to get checked out,” says Merritt, reports The Sun.

The expectant mom says, "Donovan doesn’t really appear sick at first glance, it’s scary to think we could have just been sitting at home thinking he’s fine. I’m so glad the doctors found the cancer before it was too late, mother’s should know it’s important to follow their intuition!"

Understanding Neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma is a cancer typically found in the adrenal glands. This cancer most commonly affects children aged five or younger. Symptoms of this disease can include a loss of appetite, fatigue, and fever. There may also be a lump or compression of tissues in the area that’s affected.

Treatment for this disease includes surgery and chemotherapy. Neuroblastoma develops from nerve cells in the fetus. It often affects the small glands above the kidneys, called adrenal glands.

Tumors appear most often in the abdomen but can be found in the chest, neck or spine. Some forms of this cancer will spontaneously disappear on their own, but for most children, surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiation is required.

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Coping with Chemotherapy Treatments

Donovan is currently undergoing chemotherapy to treat his cancer, says Merritt. Side effects from chemotherapy can include nausea, loss of appetite, hair loss, and more. There are some new developments, like cooling caps, which can mitigate the effects of chemotherapy-induced hair loss.

Dr. Renata Urban, a Gynecologic Oncologist at the University of Washington, says in an earlier interview, "In regards to the risk of hair loss with Paclitaxel, there is often complete hair loss some. Patients may not lose all of their hair."

"I think one thing that's important to know is that if a patient does not lose their hair, it does not mean that the chemotherapy is not effective," says Dr. Urban. "Some patients may lose all of their hair, and some patients may not."

Dr. Urban speaks about "cold therapy" and "cooling caps." She says, "The mechanism of this is that with the cold it can cause vasoconstriction or narrowing of the blood vessels bringing blood to the scalp."

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