Osteosarcoma- Frannie's Story

Read Frannie's Story here.

Osteosarcoma occurs most often in children and young adults between 10 and 20 years of age. It frequently starts in the ends of the long bones such as the bones of the arms and legs.

In Frannnie’s case it was in her left tibia and chemotherapy started within days of diagnosis in February, 2010.  Frannie was 10 years old.  The tumour was removed two months later along with 12cm of her tibia, replaced with an allograft (donor bone from a cadaver) strengthened by metal plates and pins.

Frannie’s leg was in plaster for eight weeks, and unfortunately when the plaster came off on June 24, 2010, there was a major infection in the wound and she was lucky that surgery was able to repair this or she could have lost her leg.

A month long stay in Starship followed with antibiotic treatment and chemotherapy, and when Fran was allowed home to Omokoroa, she had to keep a “bubble” attached to her Hickman Line giving IV antibiotics for over two months.  From February 1 to October 11, Fran spent 143 nights in hospital.

She spent nearly a year in a wheelchair and could not do basic things most young people take for granted, like dressing themselves, going to the toilet by themself, getting in and out of cars….  and of course all the time in Auckland put a lot of pressure on Dad Mat, and siblings Jamie (15) and Callie (5).

The above represents just a snapshot of Frannie’s journey, but she and her family are now happy to be off treatment and doing well, although their trips to Auckland haven’t stopped.

That’s because the family are one of many families around New Zealand involved in a clinical drug trial.

It wasn’t easy for Frannie’s mother Kim to ask her daughter to be involved in a trial which will require her to have weekly injections at Starship until next March, but for her it was a “no brainer”.

“We researched the drug (Interferon) and it is an “anti cancer drug, a form of chemotherapy which may help Fran not to get this cancer again,” Kim says.

“When your child is diagnosed with any life threatening illness, I think you will do anything to protect them. Unfortunately with cancer there is not much protection you can give when you are holding their hand as they are lying in bed being very ill. So this is our way of offering some protection, of doing something for her for the future.

“Francesca has some side effects from the drugs, particularly nausea and doesn’t like missing school every Friday, or having four weekly blood tests, but for her future, we have to make her have this,” she says.

Frannie is particularly susceptible to nausea. During treatment she went through 24 naso-gastric tubes which kept coming up, but is starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“Kids at school think it’s cool to get on a plane to Auckland every week, but really it’s not!” she says.
Frannie still enjoys seeing Tauranga Family Support Coordinator Debbie Hockly. Her little sister Callie calls her “aunty”, and the involvement in events and tickets to shows etc have been a great help to Kim.  Frannie is also enjoying drama lessons through a CCF Scholarship.

At this stage Frannie is still only able to walk short distances, but she is looking forward to gaining strength in her leg and to finally ditching those plane trips to Auckland, by March next year….

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