Brittany was 18 years old, a recent high school graduate and just attended esthetics school when she was diagnosed in May of 2013 with a rare cancer. LangerHan Cells Histiocytosis is only found in about 300-500 children a year in ages 5-17.
After fighting a UTI infection for a month we decided to do a CT scan. They found 21 lesions on her spine. One the size of a golf ball had already started to deteriorate her 14th vertebrate and overtook 40% of her bone marrow when she was diagnosed by a local oncologist. Not knowing much about this rare cancer he found her a specialist in Indianapolis. Brittany started treatment of chemotherapy that same week.
The weeks were tough, receiving chemo once a week for months and keeping track of the medications she was taking was all a huge change in what she knew as a teenage life. During her journey she has relied on the “Fight Like A Girl” phrase and continued today to stay amazingly positive and strong!
She has found her strength in doing positive things for all of the children at the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital. She has started her own fundraiser by having people make blankets. Her fight is to help find a cure for her rare cancer so other children don’t have to go through what she went through. She is determined to Fight Like A Girl and beat this cancer!!
Brittany
Indiana
Submitted 04/28/2014
The informational content of this article is intended to convey a personal experience and, because every person’s experience is unique, should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional healthcare advice.
This story is intended to convey a personal experience and, because every person’s experience is unique, should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional healthcare advice.
I am Brittanys Dad and just want everyone to know that I have always been the parent who is a stickler for the rules and always hard on her to be doing the right things in her life…and because of the way I choose to parent we don’t always see eye to eye…In turn we don’t always talk a lot about what is going on with her life….but I do know this….I could never be any prouder of her than I am now….she has been stronger than I could ever be and she has shown me the way to let the little things go a sometimes and enjoy the people around you because you never know what might happen one day….I pray they find a cure someday because it is very rough to see my little girl going thru what she has for the last year…I wish I could take it all away for her….but I cant….so all I have to say is GOOD LUCK CANCER! YOUR IN FOR ONE HECK OF A FIGHT FROM BRITTANY! AND NO ONE KNOWS BETTER THAN ME THAT SHE IS THE BEST AT WINNING FIGHTS! I LOVE YOU BRITT!!!!!
Brittany is my sister. My sister is very funny she always makes me laugh. When I’m with her she acts like she doesn’t even have cancer. She does things I whouldn’t think she can do and I’m like WOW. Brittany is the awesomest sister I’ve meet and always the BEST SISTER EVER !
BEAT THE CANCER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU SISSY!!!!!!!!
Brit is my grand-daughter, she is very close to me.I love her very much.she will never let this CANCER rule her body.my BRIT is true fighter and i am very proud of her.My Brit is always upbeat and cheerful she will never let this disease change her personallity or lose her composure. Cancer, i think you picked on the wrong person this time…I love you BRIT and PAPA will always be here for you when ever you need me…. A MILLION HUG AND KISSES
Hey Brittany. We are so proud of how you have handled this all this. Its enough to bring the strongest person down. But you’ve worked really hard and are always presenting a positive face. We want to be you when we grow up!
Hello Brittany,
My name is Rebecca Kruit and I am 35 years old. On Sept 24, 2009, 2 days before I turned 31, I was diagnosed with Langerhons also. I had never heard of this before. I had a canker sore in my mouth that I had for awhile. I went to the dentist who sent me to an oral surgeon to biopsy it. When I got the call, I had no clue how my life was about to change. My mom, who is a nurse did tons of research about it and several calls looking for a doctor. She was able to find one doctor at the university of Chicago who has dealt with this disease in adults. When I met with the Doctor who I just loved and made my journey so much easier, did CT and full skeletal survey. They found a lesion on my left femur. I was lucky I didn’t break my leg because I was working out 3 times a week. It had almost eaten from one side of my bone marrow to the other.
I started chemo in October of 2009 and continued through December of 2010. It was weekly treatments for about 12 weeks and then every 3 weeks. I was also on a ton of pills. I had to get pill boxes and set my alarm to keep track of all of them, LOL. In July of 2010 they did a bone marrow biopsy and the treatment had worked. I continued with the treatment so that I would complete a full year of chemo. I continued to worked full time as a teacher and workout to keep my health up. My family, husband, and friends were with me through this tough journey. Like you, I fought like a girl and WON!!!. I am going on 4 and half years of being clean and 8 months after my last treatment, I became pregnant with my beautiful daughter. We had tried for several years before I was diagnosed and was not successful. I thought I would never had kids due to the disease and the chemo, but I was wrong.
I was told I was one in a million who was diagnosed with langerhons because of my age group. I continue with regular CT scans and skeletal surveys. and so far all is great. We are both winners!!!!! I know what you have gone through. It was difficult for me, I can only imagine being your age and having to deal with it. Stay strong. The hard part is over. It sounds like you have great support from your family like I did.
Hope to hear back from you and feel free to contact me if you have any questions feel free to contact me. I also think it is wonderful what you are doing to raise money. Please let me know what I could do to get one.