In the early 1950s, less than 10 per cent of childhood cancer patients could be cured. Today, 85 per cent of kids with the most common types of cancer go on to lead healthy and happy lives. Andy Ottaway’s daughter, Pepper, is one of them.
“March 2021 was when she had her last chemo [treatment],” Ottaway told CTV News. “We rang the bell and so, that was a good day.”
Pepper was first diagnosed with leukemia when she was only 3 years old. Ottaway said it was a dark time for him and his wife, both still caring for their other children.
“We were scared. I still remember the first time she had chemo, it would have to go in her arm, and so that was really intense moments for us, just watching this chemo go into her body and hoping that it works,” he explained.
But Pepper’s doctors say she is well today and they anticipate she will continue to be well.
Leukemia is the most diagnosed cancer in children, comprising 30 per cent of the total new cases yearly.
Dr. Alexandra Zorzi was part of the team who developed the first new standard of care for acute lymphoblastic leukemia and the first new paediatric cancer treatment available since the days of Terry Fox.
(Courtesy of the Children’s Health Foundation)
She says community support and fundraising is imperative to families like Pepper’s.
“She really exemplifies what the patient experience is, in terms of length of therapy and durations of admissions,” said Dr. Zorzi, one of the doctors who treated Pepper.
“But also how joy and happiness can be found in some of the most difficult moments in a family’s life. And it’s through a lot of support and care that they received that Pepper is thriving,” she added.
There are about 10,000 children living with cancer in Canada today. London’s Children’s Hospital treats over 1,500 patients with cancer each year.
“Our daughter has down syndrome as well, so there was even a very specific plan for her to go through this,” Ottaway continued, adding that he and his wife found comfort in the hospital’s treatment plan for Pepper.
“We’re so very thankful for the children’s hospital,” he said.
The purpose of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month is to raise awareness about its impact and fundraise for research, which can be done through the Children’s Health Foundation.
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