Patient of the Month

April 2007

Mary Flowers
13 months old

Diagnosis:

Mary was found to have retinoblastoma in September 2006. Retinoblastoma is a cancer of the eye.

Mary's story:

At 4 months old, Mary Flowers suddenly stopped acting like a typical baby should. Her eyes wouldn’t clearly focus on things around her, and she no longer played with her toys. Her parents worried, and with a growing sense of dread, Andrea and Thomas Flowers realized that something was seriously wrong with their daughter.

A CAT scan at their local hospital revealed that Mary suffered from retinoblastoma. The family was advised to bring Mary to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for treatment. “Cancer never crossed my mind,” Andrea said. At the time, they thought the worst case diagnosis for baby Mary was blindness, not cancer.

At St. Jude

Upon their arrival in Memphis, Andrea was unsure what to expect at St. Jude, but soon realized there were people she could turn to. “When you are going through tough times, there are other parents here for you.” Andrea also found that the doctors and staff at St. Jude worked hard to “try to make the kids’ lives as easy as possible.”

In Memphis, doctors told the Flowers family that Mary was indeed blind, only able to see distinct changes in light and dark. The retinoblastoma was in her right eye and partially in her left. Mary started chemotherapy and will receive treatments every 21 days for the next 10 to 11 months. Doctors perform examinations every three to six weeks in order to monitor how well the tumors are responding. “After only a few rounds of chemo,” Andrea said, “the tumors are shrinking and the treatment is working.”

During this difficult time, Andrea appreciates how St. Jude meets any and all of Mary’s needs. And not having to worry about hospital bills makes the process easier, thanks to the generous donations St. Jude receives from its donors who, in Andrea’s words, “are basically helping to save my daughter’s life.”