A 2-year-old girl from Senoia, Georgia, has been diagnosed with a rare case of ovarian cancer. McKenna Shea Xydias was diagnosed on February 15 with an ovarian yolk sac tumor after doctors initially believed her distended stomach was the result of constipation or gas. They quickly discovered the reality of the situation and the little girl's family is sharing her story so other parents won't be afraid to ask more questions when it comes to their kids' health.
McKenna's family discovered her tumor after they got an unusual phone call from the girl's daycare center.
McKenna's father, Mike Xydias, explained that both he and his wife had noticed signs that something was wrong with their girl before her diagnosis, according to Good Morning America. About a month ago, the two — who are both teachers — got a call while at work from "Kenni's" teachers, saying that the 2-year-old was running a fever.
On February 7, the parents got a call again from Kenni's school. Administrators said their daughter's stomach was bloated and she seemed uncomfortable. "We took her to the doctor," Xydias remembered, "At that point they thought it was gas so they told us to give her gas drops and let them know if she got any more fevers."
A week later, Kenni was sent home again from daycare — this time she had a temperature of 102 degrees.
"I pick her up, I have to stay home with her the next day," Kenni's dad said. "The whole [next] day she was fine, no temperature. But she had difficulty using the bathroom. Meagan made an appointment for her Feb. 14 in the afternoon. That day, daycare called. She had a fever of 103."
It was then that Kenni's mom, Meagan, took her for an X-ray at her pediatrician's office, but doctors weren't entirely sure what was wrong her just yet.
At first, doctors thought Kenni's stomach was enlarged because of gas bubbles, but a MRI revealed the truth: She had tumors growing around her ovaries.
At first, the X-ray didn't conclusively reveal the nature of Kenni's illness. "They said her bowels looked full and it looked like a big gas bubble," Xydias said. Meagan then took their daughter to the hospital, where doctors performed an ultrasound to get a better look at the "bubble."
It was then that they discovered the mass growing around the toddler's ovary. A computed tomography scan and a magnetic resonance imaging scan confirmed that there were several cancerous tumors around Kenni's ovaries. One was 14 centimeters long on her right ovary, another was by her liver, and more were scattered throughout her abdomen.
“We were blindsided, we thought it was constipation,” Xydias told Fox News. “At the very worst, we thought maybe she would have to have surgery to empty her bowels, but we never thought it was going to be cancer.”
"The immediate reaction was 'How could this happen?'" Xydias add to GMA. "I knew of this being [more common] in women. I didn't realize that it could happen to such a young kid."
The childhood form of ovarian cancer is exceedingly rare and accounts for fewer than 5 percent of all ovarian cancer cases. And the tumors Kenni had, ovarian yolk sac tumors, are also unusual. According to the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, ovarian yolk sac tumors are incredibly rare, malignant tumors of cells that line the yolk sac of the embryo. Although the cause of these tumors are unknown, "It is most often found in children before the ages of one to two."
Dr. Robert Wenham, chairman of Moffitt Cancer Center’s Gynecological Oncology Program, explained that "Among all ages combined, Ovarian Germ Cell Tumors 'GCTs' (including, yolk-sac tumors like Kenni had) make up about one in four ovarian tumors in all ages with about one in five of those tumors being cancerous, and only one in five of those being yolk-sac tumors," he said.
The 2-year-old had to undergo surgery and will continue to have to have chemotherapy as part of her treatment.
Doctors ended up removing Kenni's right ovary and five inches of her small intestine as part of her treatment. Kenni started her first round of chemo on Wednesday. On a Facebook page created to raise awareness about Kenni's condition, her parents shared that their daughter "hated a lot of it (port being accessed, port being cleaned between medications, etc.). However, she did great." The parents added that she spent much of her day during the downtimes "going on walks, wagon rides, adventures to the play room, and doing crafts."
As part of her treatment, the toddler is participating in a study that involves three chemotherapy drugs, one that has fewer severe side effects than what is being used for chemotherapy treatment but may cause long-term hearing loss. Despite this risk, Kenni's dad said her doctors are confident the girl's tumors will respond to chemotherapy.
The dad admits the hardest part of his daughter's illness is having to have difficult conversations about her future, especially when it comes to her fertility. "The one that hit home the hardest was talking to a fertility nurse about our 2-year-old's future fertility possibilities," Xydias wrote on the family's GoFundMe page. "We try to take every day one step at a time, but having to consider how these tumors and consequential chemo will potentially effect Kenni in the long run, forces us to look at the big picture as well. Not sure we're quite ready for big picture just yet. Smaller bites can be easier to swallow."
Doctors told the parents that the low dose of chemo has a low risk of affecting her remaining ovary, but the family will reassess once she reaches puberty.
In the end, the parents have chosen to share their story to urge other moms and dads to take control of their children's health.
"I know it can be hard as a mom to go to your doctor and say, 'Something is not right' because they know what they're doing, but sometimes you have to trust your gut," Meagan Xydias explained to GMA. "I hope after hearing Kenni's story people are willing to say, 'Hey, can you do one more check?'"
And both parents feel confident their little fighter will make it through her treatments in good spirits. "I know Meagan and I both agree that Kenni is our hero with how she's dealing with this," her dad said. "She is a ball of energy and a stereotypical 2-year-old. She's the youngest child, where she is the boss and she's extremely stubborn, which a great character trait in going to fight cancer. She doesn't let anything stop her."
