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Talia Ponce's story
Hello to everyone who is behind all the love and support of Dillon's Dreams, We received a generous gift card and we are so thankful for all the ways that you are supporting families in the community who are battling childhood cancer. My name is Lori Ponce and I am a wife and mother to three amazing girls. Mila is 10, Gianna is 6 and Talia turns 5 on Sept 26, 2022! Cancer entered our story in November of 2021. Our daughter Talia was hanging on the monkey bars in our back yard and we thought she popped her elbow out of its socket. After an x-ray, ultrasound, MRI and biopsy, we quickly learned about Rhabdomyosarcoma. Talia has Aveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma which is an aggressive cancer of the soft tissue, muscles or tendons. She just finished her last round of Chemo on September 20, 2022 which completed her 42 week treatment plan. She received one chemo every week and every 3rd week a total of 3 chemos with an inpatient stay at the hospital. Her roadmap also consisted of 28 consecutive days of radiation. Talia will have her next scans on October 5th and we hope to see that there is no cancer left in any of her 4 tumors. I have strong days, emotional days and days that I feel overwhelmed with thankfulness. Being a parent of a child with cancer is a lot like being on a roller coaster with all the ups and downs. I have learned not to think about what the future may look like. The present is a gift and I am so grateful that I get to spend my life loving these 3 special girls with my husband, Mario. When you go through some of your worst moments in life, the things that terrify you the most, you see in a more magnified way that you're never alone. God and the ones who love you always show up in one way or another. Thank you for being a blessing to the Ponce family. Here are a few pictures of Talia along her journey. Please feel free to share any pictures and Talia's story with others affected by cancer.
Landon Roper's Story
June 2020 the pain was becoming unmanageable and one day we noticed a big lump sticking out of his back. Took him in on his 14th birthday on July 1, 2020, where they decided it was time to schedule a CT scan. They called before we even got home to inform us it was not a cyst like they thought. It was a solid mass so further testing was needed. He was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma in his ribs. Chemo started July 22, 2020. He did 8 months of chemo and had 4 ribs removed along with part of his right lung and part of his diaphragm. He rang the bell cancer free in March 2021. Several months later his back looked weird. His spine was collapsing from the lack of structure in his ribs so after attempts to correct his posture with PT and bracing it was determined he needed a spinal fusion. 2 rods and 18 screws later in February 2022 he stood straight up again and grew 3 inches overnight! October 2022, we had a relapse scare. They found nodules in his lung and another one up near his neck. He had another surgery to remove and biopsy the neck nodule. It ended up being abnormal thymic tissue not cancer. April 2023, they wanted to check the nodules in his lung. They appeared stable so cancer was ruled out. Had they been cancerous they would have seen significant growth and they had only changed a little. October 2023 went in for regular follow up scans and the nodule had doubled in size in the last 6 months. They suspected relapse so he had surgery to remove one of the nodules and it was confirmed the Ewings came back. He has started chemo again. He will have 4 cycles of high dose ifosfamide and a couple weeks of radiation. The chemo cycles are 6 days inpatient. He will need lab work several times a week to closely monitor his kidneys which are at risk of damage from the chemo as well as monitor his blood numbers. He will need many blood transfusions as well through treatment. That means LOTS of trips to Oakland over the next 5 months. He's also at high risk for developing leukemia with the type of chemo he’s getting.
Dillon's Dream A World Without Cancer
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