Dogs are known to have this uncanny ability to sniff out cancer cells in humans afflicted with the illness even months before diagnosis. So when news about a mother smelling daughter’s cancer weeks before being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, it was something quite out of the ordinary.
Sharon Mac Allister, a Scottish mom, posted on Facebook the gut-wrenching struggles of her daughter, as she lives through the ravages of the disease. Her daughter, Kaiann, looks visibly bone-tired as her young body endures numerous chemotherapy sessions, since her diagnosis in 2018.
The mom told Daily Record that she already felt uneasy even before her daughter had her heartbreaking diagnosis. She sensed something was wrong as her daughter emitted a familiar smell she once got a whiff of from a cancer patient she cared for in the past.
“I could smell a smell from her that I’ve smelled before from a lady I looked after who had cancer,” she wrote on Facebook.
In December 2018, Sharon took her daughter Kianne to different doctors after she complained of severe back pain. She also had a swollen tummy and yellow-tinged skin.
But doctors downplayed the child’s health concerns by attributing the back pain symptoms to her weight. It was only in February 2019, after countless trips to the doctor, that they learned what was ailing her daughter. The doctor ordered an MRI, which revealed the fatal cancer diagnosis.
Kianna’s parents were so devastated and were at a loss on how to break the news to their daughter. She shared on her Facebook page the pain of explaining to her child the result of the MRI scan.
“Explaining to our beautiful girl was heartbreaking. She was scared, she asked if she was going to die. We didn’t have that answer, but held her tight and told her no way, not on our watch. She was 8, she was our baby, she shouldn’t be worried about death,” said
Sharon also posted on Facebook some pictures that showed how cancer wreaked havoc on her daughter’s body as she lay in a hospital bed.
“She lost the ability to walk and had to use a wheelchair for months, and learn to walk again. She has no reflexes. She couldn’t eat for weeks because her mouth was too sore and full of Mucositis that went down into her gut.”
The energy-sapping and aggressive cancer treatments took a toll on her young, pain-wracked body.
“She has fractures on her spine and needs bone infusions to try and strengthen her bones. She’s had blood transfusions, platelet transfusions, and sepsis. Her body is covered in scars, she lost her beautiful long hair and has been left mentally scarred by all of it.”
Sharon decided to post heart-rending series of images of her child on Facebook to bring awareness to the devastating toll of cancer on the physical and psychological well-being of children afflicted with the illness. She feels that by doing so, she can encourage more people to donate to Childhood Cancer Research.
Sharon added: “Every child’s journey with cancer is different, no child is the same but every child’s journey is extremely hard and heartbreaking for all.”