Eatonton Girl Battling Brain Cancer Meets Cast of 'Vampire Diaries'
EATONTON, Ga. - A little girl from Eatonton, Georgia is a true fighter. In May, 9-year-old Cadence Fox was getting headaches that were making her so sick she would vomit.
“I picked her up from school and took her to the medical center in Macon,” said Tara Fox, the girl’s mother. “I told them I wasn't leaving until they did some kind of brain scan to determine what was causing the headaches.”
Doctors discovered a mass on Cadence’s pituitary gland and her parents rushed her to Egleston Hospital. Fox told FOX 5 her daughter had two germinoma cancer tumors on her brain. The tumors had already started damaging the gland and had caused other damage including peripheral vision loss.
“The treatment would consist of 4 rounds of chemotherapy followed by 6 weeks of radiation,” said Fox.
Her mother said Cadence tolerated the chemo remarkably with very little nausea. Cadence and her mom leave for Houston, Texas on Saturday to start radiation treatments on Monday. They will be gone for roughly six weeks. According to Fox, the toughest part about all of this is being away from family. She said Cadence hates it.
Fox said luckily her daughter has been keeping busy to keep her mind off of radiation in Houston. Recently, Cadence had the chance to go down on Turner Field at a Braves game for batting practice and got some autographs. First baseman Freddie Freeman had previously visited children at Scottish Rite and Fox said he remembered Cadence at the ball game.
Cadence was invited to the set of the hit show Vampire Diaries. She got to see the sets and have lunch with the cast and crew.
"She loved the stunt guys, Ian and Paul," said Fox. "They even had a cake made special for her visit."
Fox told us her daughter is being honored Wednesday night at their high school's softball game.
We learned about Cadence through Georgia based photographer Brandy Angel, who featured Cadence on Facebook and her website called "Be The Change." The Brandy Angel Foundation works to help anyone in need by sharing their images and stories through social media.
Angel said in the featured post that one of the most impressive things she's heard in a long time came from Cadence.
"Cadence's mom Tara told me how Cadence has never once complained about her treatments and the first time they hooked up her chemo treatment Tara began to cry at the thought of poison going into her daughter's tiny body," said Angel. "Cadence looked at her mom and said 'mom it's ok, it's JUST CHEMO.' These little warriors never cease to amaze me with their strength and heart."
The Fox family said they are thankful for good medical insurance, but the co-pays and traveling expenses are adding up. That includes their upcoming trip to Texas. If you would like to donate to their GoFundMe account, click here.