|
WAYNE - Months after they
organized a drive to help 12-year-old Nicole Gioia, her family is still
seeking a compatible donor who would be able to provide her with a
much-needed bone marrow transplant, her father said Wednesday.
Nicole suffers from Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer that attacks the
lymphatic system. Doctors have suggested she receive a bone marrow
transplant to help fight off the disease. But finding the right donor has
not been easy.
There is no known cause of Hodgkin's lymphoma, which accounts for less than
1 percent of all cancer cases nationwide, according to the National Cancer
Institute.
Nicole was first diagnosed when she began to feel a pain her neck in 2001.
In October, about 1,000 people turned out at a bone marrow drive at the
Calvary Temple. Of those, 739 eligible donors provided blood samples, adding
to the 200,000 people in the national database maintained by the River
Edge-based HLA Registry.
Since then Nicole has remained in remission, her father, Rick, said. Still,
she requires regular chemotherapy treatments that take her away from the
activities she loves, such as school, tennis lessons, and playing the drums.
"Life for her, right now it stinks," he said. "She's got cabin fever. She
can go out but not to school. She wants to go to school. She wants to be a
normal 12-year-old and this doesn't allow her to do that. It really is tough
on her, having to miss everything."
The disease has also put stress on the family as they focus on Nicole's
treatments.
"Your life is now cancer. With my wife it means running back and forth to
the hospital three times a week," he said. "Life revolves around this one
issue."
He said his family was thankful for the large turnout at the blood drive,
and the money they donated to help pay for the event. The family had agreed
to pay the $30 per bone marrow test, but that was offset by donations, he
said.
"It was a very gratifying and humbling experience that all these people
would come out and open up their veins, and their wallets," he said.
The family, which organized the event, does not have any plans for another
drive.
E-mail: ratish@northjersey.com
|
 |
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
Those who would like to
register their bone marrow type can do so by calling the HLA Registry.
Registering requires giving a blood sample. Donors must be 18 to 60 years
old and in good health. For more information or to register, contact the HLA
Registry at (800) 336-3363, ext. 27 or ext. 0, or visit www.nicolegioa.org.
|
