>> SO COURTNEY IS JUST-- SHE TAKES YOUR BREATH AWAY.
SHE IS SO MATURE AND SO GRACEFUL IN THE WAY THAT
SHE TAKES ANY SORT OF NEWS, GOOD OR BAD.
SHE IS A SHINING LIGHT IN THIS HOSPITAL.
>> I STILL REMEMBER THE FIRST DAY THAT I MET HER,
AGAIN, A WEEK AFTER HER DIAGNOSIS.
AND, YOU KNOW, IN THE MORNING YOU COME IN,
AND YOU GET YOUR BEDSIDE REPORT ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON
WITH THE PATIENT, THEIR HISTORY,
WHAT'S BROUGHT THEM TO THE HOSPITAL THAT DAY.
AND I SPECIFICALLY REMEMBER TAKING A COUPLE OF MOMENTS
TO JUST GATHER MYSELF TO LEARN OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES
THAT THIS PATIENT, COURTNEY, HAD OVERCOME.
>> WHEN I WAS IN ABOUT THE FIFTH GRADE,
MY MOM GOT REALLY SICK.
I REMEMBER HER SITTING US DOWN,
MY YOUNGER BROTHER AND MY OLDER SISTER AND I,
AND SHE WAS LIKE, "GUYS, I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT NO
MATTER WHAT, I LOVE YOU.
BUT I HAVE CANCER."
AND THEN, LIKE A YEAR AFTER MY MOM'S DIAGNOSIS,
MY SISTER, MY OLDER SISTER-- SHE WAS 16 AT THE TIME--
SHE HAD A SEIZURE.
AND SHE WAS BROUGHT HERE TO CHOP.
THEY GAVE HER A HEAD SCAN, AND SHE HAD CANCER.
>> COURTNEY'S CASE IS UNUSUAL BECAUSE OF HER
UNDERLYING DISEASE.
COURTNEY HAS LI-FRAUMENI SYNDROME,
WHICH IS A HEREDITARY CANCER PREDISPOSITION.
SO COURTNEY'S MOTHER AND HER OLDER SISTER
ALSO HAD THIS CONDITION.
>> WHEN A GENETIC CONDITION SUCH AS LI-FRAUMENI SYNDROME
IS IDENTIFIED WITHIN A FAMILY, THERE IS A ONE-IN-TWO CHANCE
THAT AN INDIVIDUAL WHO CARRIES AN ALTERED GENE
COPY WILL TRANSMIT THAT GENETIC ALTERATION TO FUTURE CHILDREN.
IT'S ESTIMATED THAT APPROXIMATELY 60 TO 80%
OF PATIENTS WITH LI-FRAUMENI SYNDROME WILL DEVELOP
A TUMOR BY THE AGE OF 80 YEARS.
>> THE FIRST DAY I MET HER, YOU KNOW,
HER MOM HAD DIED A MONTH BEFORE.
SHE'D BEEN HAVING THIS PAIN IN HER LEG FOR SEVERAL
MONTHS THAT SHE'D BEEN TRYING TO IGNORE BECAUSE
SHE HAD OTHER THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT.
>> DR. GREEN WAS MY ONCOLOGIST.
SHE WALKED IN.
SHE INTRODUCED HERSELF, AND SHE SAID,
"I'M SORRY, BUT YOU HAVE OSTEOSARCOMA, A TYPE
OF BONE CANCER."
THEN IT ALL STARTED.
>> FOR COURTNEY'S PARTICULAR KIND OF STAGE AND TYPE
OF TUMOR, SHE GOT 30 WEEKS OF CHEMOTHERAPY AND,
IN THE MIDST OF THAT, HAD A LARGE RESECTION,
OR SURGERY, TO REMOVE HER TUMOR AND TO REPAIR
THE BONES THAT WERE THEN DAMAGED.
>> MY TUMOR WAS, LIKE, UNDER MY KNEECAP,
AND SO DR. DORMANS REMOVED ABOUT HALF OF MY FEMUR.
AND I HAD A FULL KNEE REPLACEMENT,
AND A PIECE OF MY TIBIA, THEY WERE REPLACED WITH
A TITANIUM PROSTHETIC.
I TELL ALL MY FRIENDS THAT I'M BIONIC.
>> I STILL REMEMBER THAT FIRST WEEKEND,
GETTING HER THROUGH THE CHEMOTHERAPY.
AND HER BROTHER REGGIE HAD COME THAT WEEKEND BECAUSE IT
WAS HIS BIRTHDAY, AND COURTNEY DIDN'T FEEL GREAT,
BUT YOU WOULD NEVER, EVER HAVE GUESSED IT WITH HOW SHE
WAS PRESENT IN THE MOMENT AND JUST REALLY ENJOYING
THAT TIME TO CELEBRATE AND-- I'M IN AWE OF HER.
>> THIS IS A CONDITION THAT IS UNFORTUNATELY PASSED DOWN
THROUGH THE GENERATIONS, SO SOME MIGHT BE AFFECTED
AND SOME NOT.
AND WE SAW THAT IN COURTNEY'S FAMILY BECAUSE
HER BROTHER REGGIE, WHO WE TESTED,
YOU KNOW, DID NOT INHERIT THE GENETIC CHANGE
FROM HIS MOM.
>> WHEN I WAS ORIGINALLY DIAGNOSED,
I LOOKED FOR STRENGTH IN THE ONLY PLACE I HAD LEFT,
WHICH IS MY YOUNGER BROTHER.
AND I KNEW THAT IF I WASN'T HERE ANYMORE,
HE WOULD BE BY HIMSELF.
AND I JUST--I COULDN'T LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE,
SO I KNEW THAT IF IT EVER CAME TO ME FIGHTING
OR GIVING UP, I HAD TO FIGHT.
>> PEOPLE ASK ME ALL THE TIME WHY I DO PEDIATRIC ONCOLOGY.
IT SOUNDS SO SAD TO PEOPLE THAT AREN'T KIND OF PART
OF THE MEDICAL FIELD.
BUT I THINK THE SECRET IS THAT IT'S REALLY THE MOST
HOPEFUL THING YOU CAN DO.
I MEAN, WE HAVE A FANTASTIC CURE RATE.
HERE AT CHOP AND IN THE UNITED STATES,
FOR CHILDHOOD CANCERS, THE VAST MAJORITY OF CHILDREN
SURVIVE THEIR CANCERS.
SO AS LUCKY AS I AM TO KNOW COURTNEY,
AS CHOP IS TO HAVE COURTNEY HERE,
COURTNEY IS ALSO LUCKY TO HAVE CHOP.
>> I HAVE A LOT OF GOOD PEOPLE,
PEOPLE THAT CARE ABOUT ME AND MY HEALTH,
THAT ARE WATCHING MY BACK, AND I TRUST THEM TO MAKE
SURE I'M OKAY.
I'M DONE.
I'M NINE MONTHS OUT OF REMISSION.
I HAVEN'T BEEN INPATIENT IN NINE MONTHS,
BUT I STILL ALWAYS FIND A REASON TO GO BACK JUST
TO SEE EVERYONE HERE IN THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL
SO SPECIAL TO ME.
>> IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO PREDICT IF ANOTHER CANCER
WILL OCCUR, WHEN ANOTHER CANCER WILL OCCUR.
AND COURTNEY RECOGNIZES THAT IT IS CERTAINLY POSSIBLE,
AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK, TOGETHER,
WE'LL HAVE TO WORK AS A TEAM TO HANDLE THAT MOMENT SHOULD
IT ARISE.
>> ALL THE AMAZING NURSES HERE, THEY INSPIRED ME.
SO IN SEPTEMBER I'LL BE GOING TO ST. JOSEPH'S UNIVERSITY
TO START STUDYING NURSING.
>> I'M ENDLESSLY PROUD OF COURTNEY,
AND I'M SO EXCITED THAT SHE WANTS TO DO PEDIATRIC
ONCOLOGY NURSING.
I'VE TOLD HER MANY TIMES, AND WILL CONTINUE TO TELL HER,
THAT ONE DAY WE'RE GOING TO WORK TOGETHER.