Striking Out Cancer A young softball player is ready to play ball once again after thyroid cancer

Striking Out Cancer

Above: Brenda and Sydney Olson play with the family’s guinea pig in their Solon home.

Right: Sydney Olson is looking forward to returning to the softball field this spring after recovering from thyroid cancer.

Sydney Olson came out swinging when she received a cancer diagnosis last summer. And thankfully the 10-year-old softball player had a lot of heavy hitters supporting her.

“Initially we thought Sydney had a swollen lymph node on the left side of her neck,” recalls Brenda Olson, Sydney’s mom. “It was just like when you have a really sore throat. I remember mentioning it at an appointment when we saw her nurse practitioner.”

“Kids come in with enlarged lymph nodes all the time,” says Kim Stromert, DNP, UnityPoint Clinic Pediatrics Hiawatha. “It’s a typical body response. They can take some time to go down and all of Sydney’s laboratory tests came back normal.”

Kim Stromert, DNP

After Sydney’s enlarged lymph node persisted Stromert recommended Brenda take Sydney to see Kevin Carpenter, MD, Physicians’ Clinic of Iowa (PCI) Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) specialist.

“He did an ultrasound on Sydney’s neck and didn’t see anything that seemed suspicious,” recalls Brenda. “He prescribed antibiotics but it didn’t reduce the swollen lymph node and it started to hurt her when it was touched. We decided to move ahead and have Dr. Carpenter remove it surgically.”

THYROID CANCER DIAGNOSIS

“The biggest surprise was the original lymph node just below her left ear lobe contained papillary thyroid cancer,” explains Dr. Carpenter. “That’s a long way from her thyroid, which is low on her neck for it to spread that far. I wasn’t thinking it would be thyroid cancer with a 10-year-old. When I got in there and removed the enlarged lymph nodes, I saw that there were more than one and they were unusual appearing nodes, I thought there are a lot of benign things that this could be, however I was wrong.” Kevin Carpenter, MD

Thyroid cancer is more commonly diagnosed in females but is rare in children. According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) about two percent of thyroid cases are diagnosed in children and teens.

“He removed seven glands during the first surgery last August,” shares Brenda. “We all were concerned that he found that many. The surgery was on a Friday and by Monday we were called in to meet with Dr. Carpenter.”

“A biopsy of the nodes diagnosed Sydney with thyroid cancer,” says Dr. Carpenter. “Once we had the official diagnosis it was determined she would need a total thyroidectomy along with all of the nodes on the left side of her neck as well as the nodes in the midline of her neck. I operated on Sydney a second time in October and removed her thyroid and the concerning lymph nodes.”

COORDINATED CARE CLOSE TO HOME

“Sydney is such a trooper and she did really well,” says Brenda. “Between the two surgeries Dr. Carpenter removed 22 nodes. She stayed at St. Luke’s pediatrics unit for three nights and four days. She wasn’t expected to stay that long but her calcium levels were low and they worked to get them where they needed to be. The nurses at St. Luke’s took good care of her. We were happy to stay in Cedar Rapids, especially since we had to stay longer than we anticipated. We also used the Ronald McDonald Family Room at St. Luke’s, which was wonderful to have. It was great care.”

After surgery Sydney had radioactive iodine treatment. Dr. Carpenter and Nurse Practitioner Kim Stromert continue to work with other specialists to coordinate any follow-up care Sydney will need in the future.

“With no other physical symptoms aside from the enlarged lymph node — it was a tricky diagnosis,” shares Stromert. “It would have eventually declared itself as time passed but the good news is — it was caught early. Sydney has made good progress and for dealing with something so rare — she has done amazing.”

“I am looking forward to putting this all behind us,” says Brenda. “My advice for others? Trust your gut. If something doesn’t seem right, get it checked out.”

“I feel like myself again,” shares Sydney. “I look forward to getting back to playing softball with my new team in Solon. I feel great. There’s not a lot I can’t do right now.”

And once spring rolls around Sydney will prove that by swinging for the fences once more when she starts softball season.