Friday, Mar. 28, 2008
Local teen-ager battling cancer
By MICHAEL HINES
News-Mirror Writer
The past two weeks have been a whirlwind for Loomis, 40, whose step-daughter Teri Roberts was diagnosed with a primitive neuroectodermal tumor March 10 and had to have surgery to remove an 8 inch by 8 inch by 8 inch tumor from her left hip just two days later. The 14-year-old has already had one round of chemotherapy and faces nearly a year of such therapy as well as a month of radiation therapy in Cook Children’s Medical Center.
“It’s the thought ‘Our child has cancer,’” said his wife, Lynn Loomis, 46. “Nobody wants to hear that.”
A donation fund has been set up to help the family. Donations to the Teri L. Roberts Benefit Donation Fund are accepted at any Wells Fargo Bank and PayPal donations are being accepted at ewloomis@sbcglobal.net. So far, nothing is in the account. Wayne Loomis has been making fliers asking for help.
Before the ordeal began about three months ago, Teri was like most 14-year-olds. She was going through the eighth grade at Rogene Worley Middle School and played clarinet in the band. Then, about two to three months ago, she complained about discomfort in her left hip. Within two months, the spot had swelled.
“When I touched it, I thought it was a tumor,” Wayne Loomis said. “I was afraid it would be.”
Such concerns were eventually confirmed with a diagnosis. The tumor was a type of Ewing’s sarcoma, which often starts in bone or soft tissues, according to the Baylor College of Medicine. Youths between the ages of 10-20 typically develop the cancer, with more than two-thirds of them becoming long-term survivors. The exact cause of the disease remains unknown, with the cancer usually forming in the pelvis, the thigh and the trunk of the body. About 200 new U.S. cases are diagnosed annually.
“It’s just something that happens,” Lynn Loomis said.
And there are other reasons for concern. While Teri’s prognosis is good, survival rates drop to less than 30 percent if the disease spreads to other parts of the body.
“The doctor told us that if it’s in the bone marrow, it’s a very bad thing,” Wayne Loomis said. “Well, it is in the bone marrow a little bit.”
On top of that has been the toll on the family. Wayne Loomis has had problems sleeping because his worries remain constantly on his mind. Continuing Teri’s education will require home-bound school. Caring for Teri has meant taking the past few weeks off from work, and continued care puts returning to work at jeopardy for Lynn Loomis.
“I haven’t been to work in two weeks,” she said. “At this point, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to go back to work.”
While both parents are supervisors at Wal-Mart and have health insurance, they worry about how much will be covered. Bills for thousands of dollars have come in daily.
“I started to open them and got so discouraged that my wife said I’m not allowed to open them any more,” Wayne Loomis said.
A surgery expected to last two-and-a-half hours stretched into seven to remove Teri’s tumor. The 14-year-old’s spirits have been high, but Lynn Loomis has seen the situation sometimes eat at her daughter.
“She’s looking up at you after she doesn’t feel good,” Lynn Loomis said. “She’s just like ‘I want to go home,’ but she can’t. Seeing your child like that, I wouldn’t wish that on anybody.”
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