Angela Sawyer understands the importance of treating children with cancer in a pediatric facility. The 37-year-old is a cancer survivor herself, having been diagnosed in 1973 with neuroblastoma.
Although neuroblastoma is the third most common type of cancer in children, it is still rare. There are about 500 newly diagnosed cases of neuroblastoma each year in the United States. Overall, 75 percent of all children diagnosed with neuroblastoma are younger than age 5.
As for Angela, her tumor was the size of a lemon and located between her abdominal aorta and kidney. Angela was treated at Egleston Children's Health Care System, which is now part of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta—home to the Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service. Surgery was performed to remove her tumor. One year of chemotherapy followed.
These days, an adult Angela is cancer-free. As a survivor, she has to be regularly checked for late effects of cancer treatment. Late effects are caused by the injury that cancer treatment causes to the healthy cells.