Andrea's pain was due to the cancer spreading to multiple bones in her arms and legs. "The pain was so severe," Dr. Trippett recounts, "that we had to interrupt and delay the process of obtaining medical information for her initial medical history until she was given medication to relieve her pain."
Andrea's official diagnosis was a form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma known as Diffuse Large B-cell lymphoma. Dr. Trippett immediately enrolled her in a special clinical study at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, called LSA5, designed specifically to use a combination of chemotherapy drugs to treat pediatric patients with advanced-stage Diffuse Large B-cell lymphoma. (Chemotherapy drugs use different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing and growing. Combining more than one drug may kill more tumor cells than a single drug alone.)
Fortunately, Andrea responded immediately to the combination therapy. "Her response to treatment was excellent," Dr. Trippett says, "and her long-term prognosis is excellent."
For Dr. Trippett, it is personally rewarding and a privilege to have treated Andrea. "She is an inspirational young woman whose strength of character was readily evident in how she approached the diagnosis, treatment, and recovery from her cancer," Dr. Trippett notes. "She demonstrated strength, maturity, and vision when she requested to return to boarding school at Ethel Walker School to complete her senior year. She led the senior class as president while keeping her commitment to me to attend every appointment for treatment and monitoring."
At the same time, Andrea excelled academically and maintained her status on the Dean's List. "This truly was a remarkable feat!" Dr. Trippett says. "I am ever so proud of her. She has gone on to pursue her studies in college with an interest in International Business Relations and plans to pursue a career in International Law. I am certain that she will make an outstanding attorney."
