Meet Lincoln – Wilms Tumor Warrior

“The National Children’s Cancer Society has provided such a great support for us,” said Marissa, Lincoln's mom.

It was just after midnight and one year-old Lincoln had trouble falling asleep. His mother, Marissa, laid down with him and rubbed his tummy. Just as Lincoln fell asleep, Marissa felt a lump on the left side of his abdomen. Understandably, she was very concerned and called a 24-hour nurse hotline. Marissa explained what she found to the nurse who told her to make an appointment with the pediatrician first thing in the morning. The next day, Lincoln’s doctor felt his abdomen and became very alarmed. She immediately ordered an ultrasound and Marissa feared the worst when their pediatrician sent them to the children’s hospital two and a half hours away to be admitted. The very next day, Lincoln was diagnosed with bilateral Wilms tumor.

Soon after Lincoln began treatment, his parents noticed the financial impact it had on their bank account. He was treated at the hospital over 150 miles each way from their home and the travel expenses mounted. They reached out to the NCCS where a case manager was ready to help. Along with financial assistance for traveling to and from the hospital, their case manager also provided them a free NCCS parent guide to help answer any questions that arose while their son was in treatment.

Lincoln endured six rounds of chemotherapy in hopes that his tumor would shrink. Unfortunately, the opposite was true – his tumor had doubled in size. His doctors were forced to surgically remove the tumor, along with his left kidney. “Through it all, Lincoln has remained a joyful little boy!” said Marissa. Lincoln underwent additional chemotherapy after surgery and was seen every month for follow-up scans – all which have shown no evidence of disease! “The National Children’s Cancer Society has provided such a great support for us,” said Marissa. “The financial aspect is obvious, but it’s so nice to get the call from our case manager, who is genuinely concerned about Lincoln and our family!”