Shai’s Story is about a mother who fought with her daughter, Shai, through Shai’s battle with rhabdomyosarcoma, a tumorous cancer which developed in her pelvis while she was still in utero. It was diagnosed almost a year after her birth leaving Shai with little option for treatment. Shai’s mother, Frances, spent many months at a time in hospitals with Shai for chemotherapy treatment that was both saving her child’s life and killing her.
While treatment helped Shai with one cancer, leaving her family excited for her recovery, it also caused another cancer to develop while she was in remission. Shai had three organs removed due to the original cancer making recovery that much more seemingly impossible.
In the early 1990s, cord blood and tissue banking were still too new to have been an option for Shai. Instead, they relied on stem cells from a bone marrow transplant which was not only difficult to find because of her unique tissue type, but later caused multiple organ failure in this young girl.
Shai was a strong, vibrant girl that fought fearlessly all four and a half years of her life.
Frances’s experience with Shai helped her make the decision to bank cord blood for her other children. She never expected to have the same experience with them as she had with Shai, but she wanted to be prepared for the worst, just in case. She now runs the Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood website where she shares her experience and encourages banking.
Cord blood is proven to help with over 80 diseases today and has the potential to help with many more in the future.
Not sure if cord blood banking is right for your family? Contact us or request a free information packet.