Young family’s baby cancer nightmare

A two-month old baby boy is undergoing chemotherapy after he was diagnosed with a rare cancer in his mother’s womb.

Jasper Hill was diagnosed with a life-threatening condition about two weeks before he was born, when a scan revealed he had a 7cm neuroblastoma tumour growing on his spine.

Neuroblastoma affects about 1 in 8000 babies and is a cancer that occurs in early nerve cells.

Parents Lauren and Jaiger Hill were devastated by their son’s illness, but said the early diagnosis has given Jasper the best possible chance of beating the cancer.

The Gold Coast couple first realised something was wrong when doctors at Gold Coast University Hospital spotted a suspicious mass during a 35-week scan.

Mrs Hill was referred to the Mater Centre for Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) at Mater Mother’s Hospital and placed under the treatment of MFM director Dr Glenn Gardener.

Within days, a foetal scan confirmed the type, size and location of the growth.

The 33-year old mother said they had multiple meetings with Dr Gardener and Mater’s neonatology and neurosurgery teams, as well as the oncology team from Queensland Children’s Hospital.

“Meeting the team at Mater was amazing and reassuring,” she said.

“Dr Gardener came to the Gold Coast and advocated for us to deliver Jasper in Brisbane, so he would be close to Mater’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit as well as Queensland Children’s Hospital – we knew we were in the right hands from then.

“Being able to know and understand all the possibilities of what could happen to Jasper after he was born was helpful.

“We knew his tumour was pushing on his diaphragm and didn’t know what his breathing would be like.”

Mrs Hill was advised by doctors that surgery was not an option as the tumour was sitting behind Jasper’s heart and was very close to his spine.

Jasper was born at Mater Mothers’ Hospital on September 5 and received around-the-clock care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit before being transferred to the maternity ward.

Three weeks after Jasper was born, he started chemotherapy at the Queensland Children’s Hospital but still has a long road ahead of him, his mum said.

Dr Gardener said each year about four mums and their unborn babies were referred to the MFM with suspected neuroblastoma.

He said it was usually not detected until it started to grow and compress nearby organs.

“If detected early, the survival rate with early treatment is about 90 per cent in babies under 18 months,” he said.

“If left untreated, the cancer cells can spread quickly to other parts of the body, such as the lymph nodes, liver, lungs, bones, central nervous system, and bone marrow.”

Although Jasper is allowed to go home between chemotherapy, his mum said her family were still going through a “heartbreaking” time.

“I am still in denial and in survival mode,” she said.

“Jasper has a big three-year-old sister who doesn’t understand what cancer is and why her brother can’t come home yet.

“We want nothing more than for him to be cured of this cancer and to be back home enjoying life as a family of four, and to one day enjoy a holiday together.”

Mrs Hill is positive about her son’s outlook and doctors have told her Jasper has a “really good chance” of beating the cancer, because it was detected early.

“Jasper is a fighter and he is strong, he has a great family support network around him,” she said.

“We are hoping he will be home to celebrate his first Christmas with us, but depending on the chemotherapy schedules, it’s likely he will still be in hospital.”

She said her plans to be at home enjoying the “newborn bubble” had been derailed and instead she was driving from the Gold Coast to Brisbane several times a week to see her precious baby boy.

“My husband and I stayed at Ronald McDonald House for over a month when he was first born,” she said.

“When Jasper comes home after chemotherapy treatment, every few days he needs dressing changes and blood tests back in Brisbane, which means trips to the city are frequent, and costly.”

Lauren Williams has set up a GoFundMe page called Baby Jaspers Neuroblastoma Journey to help the family with travel costs. The fundraiser has reached almost $13,000.