Chrissy Turner is just eight years old and she has breast cancer.
The little girl, who lives with her family in Utah, USA, is one of the youngest people ever to receive a breast cancer diagnosis.
According to The Guardian, Chrissy was diagnosed with a rare form of the disease known as secretory carcinoma, just last month, after she found a lump in her chest.
Reports say that the little girl’s breast tissue will be removed in early December, through a mastectomy.
In an interview with ABC TV, Chrissy said, “I was scared to figure out what it was. But I knew I could fight it off and I hope that I can fight it off.”
Annette Turner, Chrissy’s mum, was devastated by the news. “It was such a shock,” she said. “No child should have to go through cancer.”
Annette and her husband, Troy Turner are both cancer survivors themselves.
Annette had cervical cancer and Troy is battling a resurgence of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He was first diagnosed with the disease when Chrissy was a baby, say reports.
Chrissy “had been a tonic for the family during her father’s earlier round of chemotherapy”, said Annette, adding, “She was always making us laugh and she’s got the wit of someone far beyond her age.”
Breast cancer in young girls rare, but possible
Breast cancer is certainly not a disease you’d expect a little girl to get. But it does happen, like in Chrissy’s case. A report published in 2000 mentions a little girl who was just six years old at the time of being diagnosed with the disease.
And the youngest known sufferer of secretory carcinoma, according to reports, was a Korean girl just three years old.
The good news is that most breast lumps in children are not dangerous.
Reportedly, even those lumps that are diagnosed as breast cancer spread at a much slower pace than they do in adults. However, there is a chance that they will not be found until the child is older.
The treatment for breast cancer in a child is usually mastectomy.
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