Young Adult Cancer Canada > Community > Profiles > Carla Hooper

Carla Hooper

Age at Diagnosis: 8 (2001)

Hometown
Mt. Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador

How did you find out you were sick? What events led to the diagnosis?
Well I don't remember a lot of what went on at that time because I was only 8 years old and I guess I didn't pay much attention to it but my mom helped me piece this together and this is how it went. In October 2000, I started to get the flu and I was feeling kind of rotten (we remembered this because on Halloween we went out Trick or Treating early because I hadn't been feeling well at all). I didn't go out for very long because I was just too tired to finish the whole street. After a couple of weeks my mom decided that I should go to our family doctor because I was just not getting any better. So my doctor examined me and gave me some medication to take for 10 days. After 10 days the medication did not work and he changed it to another kind. That went on for a while and then in January my mom noticed that I was breathing really hard during the night and that I was frothing at the mouth because I was breathing so hard. We went back to the doctor again and he sent me to the (old) Janeway for a chest x-ray and thought that I might have had pneumonia. When we got to the Janeway and I had my x-ray the doctors asked me to wait for a little while until they could have a look at it. After they looked at the x-ray they sent me to the Emergency Department were I was for quite some time. I had to get hooked up to I.V. and I really didn't like that. Then I ended up getting different kinds of tests done. I had a CT Scan in which I didn't mind too much. All I wanted to do was to go home. The doctor came and got my Mom, Nan, and Pop and they left the room for a while. The doctor told my mom that I had a large tumor in my chest and that it was spread into my lymph nodes and my kidneys. My family was devastated and very scared for me. I was just taking it all in and I guess that I didn't understand most of it so I didn't worry about it. After a long while I finally got a room upstairs on 2A and I got to play lots of video games. But not too long after that I ended up having surgery and ended up having to stay in the ICU. This was not too much fun because by this time I had an IV in each hand, my fingers were all stabbed up because they were taking blood from them and they were just too tender to even play a game on the play station. Finally I got out of the ICU and Dr. Hand told me that I had Leukemia and that I had to start Chemotherapy and that the drugs would probably make me feel a little sick and that I might lose my hair. After about a week or so I was able to go home and just come back a couple of times a week for chemotherapy. It was really nice to get back home again. I continued Chemotherapy for two and a half years and I finished my Chemo on March 2, 2003 and I am Cancer free!!

What year was it? What was your age at the time?
It was January 2001 when I was diagnosed and I was 8 years old.

At what level of education were you at diagnosis?
I was in Grade 3

What was your diagnosis?
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)

What are your career goals?
She hopes to someday become a Marine Biologist.

What were your first thoughts when diagnosed?
My first thoughts were "Oh no! What is Cancer? Did I know anyone with Cancer?" Then my mom reminded me that my Grandmother Hooper had cancer and she was doing fine. It was then that Dr. Hand told me that I might lose my hair and my mom told me it was okay because she would buy me a wig.

How did your family react?
My family was very scared and they cried a lot.

How did your friends react?
My friends were all in shock and couldn't believe that this was happening to me. Some people in my school treated me different but they treated me better. This made me feel good because I knew I had lots of friends to count on.

What did your treatment consist of?

Medical Side: My medications consisted of lots of different kinds of medications. Some were pills that I could take at home and others had to be given in I.V. and another one had to be given in my spine These are a list of the drugs that I had to take: Vincristine - given through I.V. Thioguanine - given in pill form Methotrexate - given in pill form and with a needle in my spine which was called a lumbar puncture Mercaptopurine (6-MP) - given in pill form Doxorubicin - given through I.V. Cyclophosphamide - I think this one was given through I.V. but only a couple of times. Dexamethasone - this is steroid pills that I took for one week out of every month. Asparaginase - this one was given by needle in the muscles in each leg (ouch!!!)

Non-Medical Side: Sometimes I got really upset because of all the medications that I was taking. I was really moody when I was taking my dexamethasone. Some days I would have to take up to 22 pills and I would almost have all of them gone and I would get sick and have to take them all over again. I really didn't like that.

In which hospital(s) were you treated?
I was treated at the Old Janeway for the first 4 months and then I was treated at the New Janeway.

What is your current medical status?
I was in remission on day 13 of Chemotherapy.

How is life different for you now post diagnosis (physically, emotionally, socially, spiritually)?
Well I have scars that I didn't have before, from surgeries. I have a big one on one side of my neck from my biopsy and then I have two little ones on the other side of my neck and another one on my chest where I had my port-a-cath. So altogether I have four scars.

What is/was the toughest part of your challenge?
The toughest part of having Cancer was the treatment and how it made me feel. During treatment I had problems with my liver and pancreas and it made me really sick and I missed a lot of school. Another tough part of having Cancer was losing my friends at the hospital but I'm glad that I got to meet them.

What is/was the best part of your challenge?
The best part of my challenge was the fact that it made me stronger. It made me realize that I can face challenges on my own. I am only 12 years old and I have gone through more than most people do in a lifetime but I am stronger because of it.

What really motivated you to keep going while you were sick?
My motivation was that at the end of my treatment I would get to Marineland to help train a Killer Whale. This was my wish granted from the Children's Wish Foundation.

What are your thoughts and feelings about your illness now? How have they changed since before your diagnosis?
I know that Cancer is a hard journey and you need strength and will power to survive.

Did you attend any support groups during your challenge?
I didn't actually attend support groups but I did help my mom collect for the Cancer Society and I always attend the Relay for Life and this made me feel good.

How are you connected with Young Adult Cancer?
My mom receives emails from Geoff Eaton and sometimes I read them too.

If you are interested in connecting with Carla Hooper please email connect@youngadultcancer.ca.