Lena Marston has always been an active, risk-taking, fun-loving child. She was an early swimmer and loves to swim, dive, and do tricks in the water with her older brother, Isaac. It was while they played in a pool that her parents noticed a small red bump on the inside of her right nostril. Assumed to be an abscess, her pediatrician referred her to an ENT after a round of antibiotics did not have any effect. Her ENT then arranged to drain the abscess, but when he attempted the procedure, the bump was not an infection, but instead a solid mass. Lena was referred to the Aflac Clinic at Egleston Hospital and diagnosed with Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma in August of 2017. She was four years old.

Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare, aggressive solid tumor cancer that begins in the blood vessels. It is not caused by any environmental factors but develops in utero. This diagnosis began a cycle of treatment lasting almost a year. Her treatment would involve different forms of chemotherapy and radiation. Some weeks, it was a quick visit for a fast chemo infusion, other weeks required an inpatient admission, and then another form of chemotherapy meant spending a week getting outpatient chemotherapy for over 3 hours each day. She and her parents would travel the almost 4 hours from their home in Moultrie, GA to Atlanta for this treatment. Starting after Thanksgiving, Lena had daily radiation treatment in addition to her chemo for 7 straight weeks. She and her family spent the holidays at the Ronald McDonald House and she was thrilled to have 6-year-old Isaac join her during his Christmas break.

Chemotherapy was tough on Lena, but she kept her sense of humor by playing tricks and telling jokes with her nurses, doctors, and staff at the Aflac Clinic. She often impressed the Aflac staff with her very individual fashion sense.

Lena had her last chemotherapy treatment in June of 2018. She has follow-up scans every 3 months to make sure that her tumor does not return. She started kindergarten in the fall of 2018 and has thrived being with friends and learning to read and write. She loves dance class and cannot wait until it is warm enough to swim again.

Maddy Roman: Maddy was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in February of 2018 and has fought hard against this disease over the past 10 months. Earlier this year, Maddy not only celebrated her sixteenth birthday but also celebrated the end of treatment by ringing the bell at the Aflac Cancer Center.

According to her dad, Maddy has kept her wit and charm throughout the whole process and there is nothing Maddy cannot do. Maddy is a native of Ball Ground, Georgia.

Her favorite subject is science and after everything she has gone through in her cancer journey she is now thinking of pursuing a career in nursing. She has developed a very special bond with her nurses at the Aflac Cancer Center which has led to this inspiration. In fact, one of Maddy’s favorite nurses also had the same diagnosis when she was little so they have developed a special bond.