Rare cancer teen survivor inspired to be a nurse thanks to team who saved her life
Published: 10 Feb 2023
A recovered paediatric cancer patient is hoping to follow in the footstepss of those in the outstanding rated paediatric team at St George’ s Hospital that saved her life.
Zoe Magness, who recently celebrated her 18th birthday, was just four years old when she became unwell and doctors found a tumour on her right lung.
She began chemotherapy treatment at St George’ s immediately and was transferred to the paediatric intensive care unit( PICU) as her condition deteriorated. Zoe only had a slither of one lung working
, as the cancerous tumour grew and pushed her heart and working lung across her body.
She was diagnosed with Type 1 Pleuropulmonary Blastoma, a rare type of childhood lung cancer – so rare that Zoe was one of less than only thirty people in the world to be diagnosed with the disease. The cancer itself was only discovered in 1991 and even when Zoe was diagnosed, there was little known about its cause
.
Nikki Rennie, Zoe’ s mother, said:“ We were so worried she wasn
’ t going to pull throughh.
Zoe was unconscious in intensive care for seven weeks. At one point we were told to call our family to come and say their goodbyes, but the PICU team never gave up, trying different ways to support her breathing, giving her a tracheostomy and dealing with a pneumothorax in her healthy lung.
She added:“ The caring staff did everything they could to make her as comfortable as possible, but I had a lump in my throat every day wondering is she going to wake up or even make it through the day
”. After three months in PICU
, Zoe’ s condition started to improve, she regained consciousness and had her tracheostomy removed. By this point, Nikki said that St George’ s started to feel more like a second home to the whole family.
She said:“ The nurses and play specialists did such kind things to help keep Zoe entertained, such as reading to her or playing games. We were allowed to take her into the hospital garden so she could have some fresh air after being inside for weeks. They were always there to support my partner and myself through the most difficult times throughout Zoe’ s cancer treatment.”
After nine rounds of chemotherapy and furtherr care, Zoe was transferred for specialist surgery at Great Ormond Street