Transplant gives tiny patient cutting-edge treatment for brain tumor
Two-year-old Mariyah Fersner had a very rough year in 2007. Her ordeal began on Christmas Day in 2006 when she spent the day in surgery to remove a large tumor from her brain. Despite a successful surgery and chemotherapy at another hospital, the toddler’s health problems continued. Little Mariyah suffered a seizure on Valentine’s Day that required a second surgery to remove scar tissue from her brain. Mariyah was sent to Hollings Cancer Center that spring to have to have stem cells from her own blood harvested for later transplantation. This procedure, called autologous stem cell collection, would allow the doctors to later give intense, high-dose chemotherapy to prevent a reoccurrence of her brain tumor. Since high dose chemotherapy destroys bone marrow’s ability to make red and white blood cells and platelets, Mariyah would be given a stem cell transplant using her previously collected stem cells stimulate re-growth of her bone marrow. Mariyah received three transplants that spring. These repeat or “tandem” transplants were done to deliver the most intensive therapy possible for her tumor. She also underwent six weeks of radiation therapy. Thankfully, a follow-up MRI in October was clear – the tumor had not returned. “She is doing fine. She’s up, running around, playing and completely back to normal” said Nikiyah Spearman, her mother. “In many ways I wish I’d never heard of Hollings Cancer Center, even though they were very nice and helpful. They explained things carefully so you could understand them and they were very patient. But I give credit to the Lord for bringing her through it all.” | 
