A four-year-old girl has had one of her ovaries frozen after treatment for a rare form of leukaemia meant she risked becoming infertile. Rose Sherlock, four, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in January 2021 after first showing symptoms of bruising four months previously.
Her mum, Catherine, revealed that when doctors eventually diagnosed the leukaemia via a blood test, the aggressive chemotherapy treatment meant a risk of damaging the eggs in the ovaries. That can means that none are left after treatment and, if this happens, patients can no longer get pregnant and might have early symptoms of the menopause.
One of Rose's ovaries was removed and is being stored in a freezer in Oxford, thanks to the Oxford NHS Trust Future Fertility Programme. Catherine, 36, from Sutton, London, told MyLondon that having to digest the news that her first-born child had cancer, having to make decisions about her fertility was "another huge blow".
She said: "When she is older and wants to have a baby, she would have to have IVF and put the ovary back in. I just never thought I would be in that position. I wasn't even thinking about her adolescence yet, let alone her fertility, at age three. This will affect everything in her life. We'd only recently got the diagnosis, and to have this was just a huge blow."
For children and some adults who have to start treatment urgently, the standard fertility preservation methods of egg, embryo or sperm storage are not an appropriate option. For girls and women who are unable to freeze eggs or embryos, a treatment called ovarian tissue cryopreservation may be offered. This is where part or all of an ovary is removed, frozen and stored or 'cryopreserved' for future use.
There is no charge to patients for tissue cryopreservation and ongoing storage, as the organisation is supported via the Oxford Hospitals Charity. Catherine said she was hugely grateful to St George's Hospital in Tooting for facilitating the ovary preservation, and for looking after Rose during her treatment, which means she's now on the road to recovery. Rose also had four rounds of chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant at the Royal Marsden Hospital, London.
Catherine urges other parents to speak up if they believe their child is showing unusual symptoms. She added: "When her symptoms started, I just felt like she just wasn't herself. She was a little under the weather and had bruises but doctors put it down to her being an active child. But I intuitively knew it was something more. It wasn't until New Year's Eve 2020 when she ended up in St Helier Hospital A&E with a fever and a rash of big red blotches on her body that I started to really take it seriously.
"I did feel listened to by doctors. But I had to keep advocating for what I believed. I had to keep pushing."
After Rose later developed a black spot on her tongue, an urgent blood test revealed her acute myeloid leukaemia diagnosis. Catherine received the devastating news via her husband, and Rose's Dad, Jake, as Covid regulations at the time meant only one parent was allowed to be in the hospital.
Leukaemia is cancer of the white blood cells. Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) means it progresses quickly and aggressively, and usually requires immediate treatment. The symptoms of AML usually develop over a few weeks and become worse over time. Symptoms can include:
- looking pale or "washed out"
- feeling tired or weak
- breathlessness
- frequent infections
- unusual and frequent bruising or bleeding, such as bleeding gums or nosebleeds
- losing weight without trying to
Rose's cancer had a high genetic mutation, which meant that it was unlikely there would be a matched live stem cell donor. But in a positive turn of events, someone had donated an umbilical cord which was a match. Rose got the stem cells she need from it via a stem cell transplant.
While Rose's experience was "sobering", Catherine said that a cancer diagnosis doesn't need to be completely life-changing, largely thanks to modern science and the support of highly knowledgeable staff.
She said: "Finding out was absolutely horrifying. Your whole life changes in one second. Your whole life and expectations of being a mother completely change. Doctors gave us a realistic view on the seriousness of it, but that we could treat it, so we remained hopeful. But thanks to the stem cell transplant and the chemotherapy, she's on the road to recovery.
"The kindness of the staff at St George's really helped us, and the way that they work so closely with The Royal Marsden. They did more than just helping her survive, they looked after me just as much as Rose.. And now we appreciate our time together even more. It feels really really special. It's like an insight that you never had before.
"But I'd urged other parents - don't be afraid to say what you are worried about. Doctors do know that when a mum or dad feels something, they know we know our children best."
Catherine also thanked the NHS Blood and Transplant team after Rose received multiple vital blood platelet transfusions during her course of treatment. Chemotherapy can affect your platelet count - Platelets are tiny cells in your blood which help form clots to help stop bleeding. A platelet transfusion is when you are given platelets from carefully screened donors. "I just hope people know how vital it is to give blood, so they can help more critically ill patients like Rose", Catherine added.
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