Angus Wauchope – 8 years – Chest infection and benign tumour

Today, eight year old Angus (affectionately known as Gus) looks like any other happy little boy. He plays soccer, loves lego and enjoys mucking around with his brothers and sister. But just a few years ago, it was a very different story.

Gus was born in England and became very ill when he was 18 months old. The week before Gus and his family were due to move back to Australia, his condition worsened and doctors decided that he would not be able to get on a plane to go back to Australia. Doctors found a huge tumour between his lung and heart which was impeding his breathing, however the tumour was not cancerous.

The tumour was removed but it regrew rapidly. Doctor’s again removed the growth so it was safe for Gus to fly home and he was transferred straight to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane.

There have been only 10 documented cases of Gus’s condition. Fortunately for Gus, Paul Francis – RCH Respiratory Director had treated a couple of patient’s with Gus’s condition.

Gus had another 18 operations as a part of his treatment and also underwent chemotherapy for a year which resulted in his body shutting down. Over time Gus’s body started fighting back and the tumour remains in his body but thankfully no longer intrudes the lung. Gus is now doing really well and his parents remain hopeful that doctors will continue to find out more information about his condition.

Gus’s Mum Becky says she is thankful the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation takes the time to brighten the lives of kids dealing with serious illness.

“The Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation does fantastic work taking the kids minds off their conditions,” she said.“We were worried that Gus might feel a little different to other kids after all of the operations and the treatments he has been through. But the Foundation has been great giving him the opportunity to play in the Wonder Factory and meet some of his sporting heroes, so a positive spin has been put on what could have been a very negative experience.”

Jayda Howard – 7 years - Osteosarcoma

Jayda was diagnosed with osteosarcoma at the age of five. Jayda’s mother Lisa took her to the doctor after she noticed her limping. Soon after, Jayda’s father Gavin discovered a lump in her leg. After an X-ray was taken it was revealed that Jayda had cancer.

Lisa and Gavin were told that Jayda’s cancer was aggressive and that her leg bone (tibea) was almost rotted at the top. They were lucky to find the cancer when they did.

Osteosarcoma is the most common type of bone cancer, and the sixth most common type of cancer in children. Although other types of cancer can eventually spread to parts of the skeleton, osteosarcoma is one of the few that actually begins in bones and sometimes spread elsewhere, usually to the lungs or other bones.
Doctors started Jayda on a strong course of treatment immediately. She lost all her hair in her very first dose of chemotherapy, only a week after first being diagnosed.

Jayda underwent 10 months of chemotherapy treatment for her cancer. She also underwent limb-salvage surgery, where the bone and muscle affected by the osteosarcoma are removed, leaving a gap in the bone that is filled by a special metal prosthesis. These can be appropriately matched to the size of the bone defect.

Jayda will undergo surgery every year to lengthen the prosthetic by ½ cm until she is 16 years old. They will then replace the prosthetic with an adult size.

Jayda is in remission – the tumour died 100% thanks to the treatment she was given. Mum Lisa says she will be forever grateful to everyone involved in treating Jayda.“It just changes your life in a split second. We went from having a child who was limping to a diagnosis of cancer,” she said.“No family or child should ever have to face this. We just hope the cancer will never come back. Jayda has to wait 5 years before she can be classed as a ‘cancer survivor’.”

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