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IDAHO FALLS — A local family is sharing good news after they say their 2-year-old daughter completed chemotherapy and had surgery to remove a tumor.
Amanda and Steven Cook live in Idaho Falls with their children Lily, 2, and Jack, 6. Lily went through a 12-hour surgery last week at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center that was performed by Dr. William Hammond.
"She is so brave. She's been a really good patient through it all," said Amanda. "Right after her surgery, she was turning and moving. It was just amazing."
In December, it was discovered that Lily had a tumor behind her tailbone. She was diagnosed with stage 4 sacrococcygeal cancer. According to the Nationwide Children's Hospital online, sacrococcygeal teratoma, is a tumor that forms on a fetus's tailbone.
She started chemotherapy on Dec. 22 at Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City. It was originally estimated that Lily would be on chemotherapy for at least six to nine months, but she responded well to it.
"(The tumor) went from like a youth-sized football to a tennis ball," Amanda said.
It had shrunk in size over the course of four rounds of chemo treatments, which were five days each, every three weeks.
"It's like every dad has a hard time watching their kid go through all that," Steven said. "It's been a struggle. Just watching her endure all of this … all the pokes, all the jabs, all the trauma."
The Cook family is hoping to get back to normal and has been grateful for the outpouring of support from the community. A "Love for Lily" benefit dinner and auction in January had raised more than $30,000 for the family to help them during this challenging time.
"We were extremely grateful for all that," Steven said.
Right now, the Cook family is waiting for blood results to see if Lily is clear of cancer.
Lily's birthday is at the end of May, and Steven says he hopes his daughter will be "three and cancer-free."
