Meet Charlie
At just 3 years old, a bump on Charlie's ribs and a hard belly led to a terrifying diagnosis: a Wilms tumor, weighing two pounds.
Charlie had surgery almost immediately after, followed by radiation and chemotherapy.
"There were no pediatric infusion centers in Wilmington," Charlie's mom, Tiffany, said. "Every week, we drove to Raleigh for chemo. Every week, three days after chemo, we'd end up in the emergency room and get transferred to Chapel Hill for her counts to improve. This was in the midst of Covid with another kid at home whose life I didn't want to disrupt."
Despite being diagnosed later than most with a Wilms tumor, and with a bigger tumor than most, today, Charlie is a second grader, a ballerina, excels in school, and shows no evidence of disease! Still, the journey wasn't easy for the Rogers family.
"As a family, we were in a tornado that made forward thinking impossible. People would say, “How can I help?” and I didn’t know," Tiffany said. "Our brains were in the minute-by-minute for years."
While friends and family stepped up to help the family in any way they could, Children's Cancer Partners was also there as soon as Charlie was diagnosed.
"Children's Cancer Partners did so much of the basic stuff that gets forgotten, like gas, food, last-minute hotels, birthday cards, remote events, and networking," Tiffany said. "I could not have afforded to drive to Raleigh every week (usually twice), and keep us fed as needed. I was so emotionally spent, I couldn't cook, think, or parent. I never had to worry about parking, travel, or feeding. I could make schedules and decisions based on Charlie, not money."
Through all this and more, CCP will continue to be there for the Rogers family and more than 2,500 others just like them this year alone.
"CCP does more than anyone knows. They acknowledge that a cancer diagnosis changes every following moment. It's not always bad or tragic, but it's always different," Tiffany said. "She will always have memories of pain and hurt during that time. But she also remembers McDonald’s after chemo, foam parties, and jumping on hotel beds. She has an alternative narrative to tell because of CCP."
Tiffany hopes their family's story will help others, including those lucky enough not to have to deal with a childhood cancer diagnosis.
"While children with cancer can be bright spots for others, you can be too. This may not be your passion, but you can matter somewhere. I think of foster kids with this diagnosis, or families with relapse, or those who don’t know about CCP, or what language barriers create. There’s a place for you and your talent and your brightness," Tiffany said. "Who you are matters."