TOANO — Two-year-old Nancy Nice from Toano was recently diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma, and many in the community have stepped up to help the family as they navigate endless doctor’s appointments, hospital stays and Nancy’s care.
Nice’s diagnosis came after her parents noticed she seemed fussier than their other three kids. At her 12-month well visit, Nancy showed signs of anemia, and at Nancy’s 18-month doctor’s appointment, the Nice’s doctors tested once again for anemia and found her hemoglobin was dangerously low.
A round of bloodwork came back with about 15 abnormal results. Alarm bells went off in her parents’ heads, and the family was referred to hematology and oncology at Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk.
“When we met with them, based off of her current symptoms at the time, they thought she might have leukemia. They did a bone marrow biopsy and it came back negative. No leukemia, and they were all happy, and we were left confused,” Marianna Nice, Nancy’s mother, said.
The doctors at the hospital ordered follow-up appointments every month to keep their eyes on Nancy. Ahead of a follow-up appointment scheduled for early December, Marianna noticed yet another symptom.
“I thought originally that she had a scratch under her eye, but it just continued to grow until it was a full-blown black eye. I reached back out to the hematology doctor and made another appointment,” Marianna explained.
“My husband just said to them, ‘something is not right with our daughter,’ and I think that really pushed the oncologist to really take us seriously,” Marianna added.
That same day, doctors did a CT Scan as the Nice family waited with anxiety for the results.
“We were sitting in this tiny little room, and the doctor came in with a nurse. We really did not think; we knew something was wrong, but it truly wasn’t cancer. She came in and just said that the scans were back, and there were some really concerning things that were showing up. They couldn’t say without a doubt before doing a biopsy, but she said based off what she was seeing, it looked like neuroblastoma,” Marianna said.
Neuroblastoma is a rare cancer that develops from immature nerve cells, most often forming in the adrenal glands above the kidneys, but it can also appear along the spine, chest, abdomen, or pelvis. It primarily affects infants and young children and is one of the most common cancers in babies.
After the diagnosis of stage four neuroblastoma, the family began looking at treatment options for their youngest child. Nice is currently receiving chemotherapy and just finished her fourth round.
Marianna says that the days between treatments vary with Nancy’s condition.
“Some days, we wake up and things feel very normal. She’ll be running around, playing with her sisters, we’ll go grocery shopping. Some days, it can feel eerily normal. She’ll be in between treatments, and she’s finally gotten over some of the side effects from the chemotherapy, and it feels almost wrong, because she has cancer, and it feels like we should be doing something, but we’re at home and she’s playing with her sisters. It’s so life-giving, but it also feels like such a contrast from the week before when we were in the hospital and she’s writhing in pain in the bed and getting all sorts of medication,” Marianna explained.
After sharing Nancy’s diagnosis on Facebook, the community has stepped in to help the Nice family. From meal trains to fundraisers, blood drives to shirt sales, and businesses donating portions of their profits, the Nice family has been inundated with help, something that Marianna says she is “grateful for every day.”
One of the special gifts that the Nice family received is a custom-made map of the world, named Nancy’s Prayer Map. The Nice family puts a pushpin in every country and state that has been praying for Nancy and has been tracking how far their daughter’s name and story have gone.
“It’s a visual reminder of the most powerful treatment, which is praying to God. He created Nancy; he understands her body more than any doctor could ever understand. Being able to see that and to know that I’m not the only one praying for Nancy, it really just brings tears to my eyes. It’s overwhelming to look at because it’s so hard for me to believe that when I look at all the different pins, and I look at different countries and the other side of the world, it’s just mind-boggling,” Marianna said.
The Nice family posts updates about and shares pictures of Nancy in the Nancy News group on Facebook. The family is also planning a fundraiser with Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, a national organization that raises money for childhood cancer research, in the summer. More information on that event will also be posted to the Nancy News group.
To keep up with Nancy’s story and updates on her treatments, visit Nancy News on Facebook.