Brave 8-Year-Old Girl Prepares To Fight Rare Breast Cancer

Chrissy Turner, an 8-year-old from Utah, was recently diagnosed with a rare form of breast cancer.

Normally, children around 8-years-old aren’t even worrying about Junior High School yet. They’re looking forward to recess, doodling in class, and playing tag. Not Chrissy Turner.

Chrissy was recently diagnosed with a rare form of breast cancer called secretory carcinoma.

“I was scared to figure out what it was,” she explained to ABC during an interview. “But I knew I could fight it off and I hope that I can fight it off.”

Chrissy found the lump herself last month, according to the Guardian.

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“She came to us on a Sunday afternoon, she said, ‘Mommy I have been scared and I have this lump,'” Mrs. Annette Turner, Chrissy’s mom, said. “It had been there for a while.”

Having both been affected by cancer in the past, Chrissy’s parents decided to err on the side of caution and brought her to a doctor. There she was tested and the news of her rare breast cancer was revealed.

The family was devastated.

“I was in shock,” Mrs. Turner continued. “No child should ever have to go through cancer.”

Melissa Papaj, a friend of the family, started a GoFundMe page for the Turners. She is hoping to raise enough money to help them take care of their daughter’s breast cancer and Mr. Troy Turner’s cancer.

Mr. Turner, Chrissy’s father, recently relapsed and is currently fighting Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

On the GoFundMe page, Papaj recalls how she learned of Chrissy’s rare disease.

“I answered my phone, a typical bubbly hello as I saw my best friend’s name pop up on the screen. ‘Hello, Annette!’ Instantly, I knew something was wrong. She asked me while sobbing, ‘Can you do family portraits for us this week? Chrissy’s doctor just called and said she has a very rare form of breast cancer.’ My heart sank. How in the world do you tell your child she has cancer? Cancer. Instantly, my mind went to my eight year old daughter and wondered how in the world I would tell her.”

The GoFundMe page goes on to describe a parent’s worst nightmare. The page tells the full story of Chrissy’s breast cancer. The cancer is described as being so rare that only 1 in 1-million people around the world are diagnosed with it. Later on, it goes on to describe the costs involved with treating any cancer, with or without insurance.

At the time of this article, the GoFundMe page has received almost $50,000 in donations. The family is looking to reach their goal of $100,000.

The rare cancer that Chrissy is affected by is a slow-growing breast cancer that is more common in juveniles, though people of any age can be affected by it (the average age being 25). Secretory carcinoma got its name because of an abundant secretion of mucin that occurs within the tumor associated with the disease. This form of carcinoma accounts for approximately 0.15 percent of all breast cancer and is one of the rarest carcinomas known at this time.

There is some good news for Chrissy. The rare breast cancer she is fighting has a very good prognosis. With treatment, there is a very high chance that she will be fine in the long run.

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Treatment will include a mastectomy since chemotherapy is much more harmful to children than adults.

“Chrissy will need to undergo a simple mastectomy to remove all of her remaining breast tissue, to prevent this cancer from coming back,” one of Chrissy’s doctors, Dr. Brian Bucher, told the Guardian.

“We are going to fight this as a family,” Mrs. Turner added. “We are going to be there for Chrissy, no matter what”.

[Image via Go Fund Me]