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Beloit girl moves forward after cancer treatment
BELOIT
September was the month three years ago when a Beloit family’s life experienced its most-serious challenge.
Morgan Loudon was 8 when she was diagnosed with a rare rhabdoid tumor in September 2012. The cancer was in her abdomen, wrapped around the aorta and hepatic arteries. “When she started her treatment, the expected outcome was grim,” said Melissa Loudon, Morgan’s mother.
The family had to make sacrifices, making multiple trips back and forth to Akron Children’s Hospital in Akron. Melissa took off a year as program director of Wound Care and Hyperbarics at Alliance Community Hospital to care for her sick daughter.
Morgan’s tumor was originally inoperable, but treatment was effective enough for it to be removed. She completed 28 radiation treatments with her final course of chemotherapy in June 2013.
Despite dealing with some side effects of the treatment that saved her life, Morgan’s mother said she’s a straight-A student who loves playing soccer. She also has aspirations to attend Ohio State University to become a veterinarian.
“We are forever changed,” Melissa said.
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month.
Along the way, the Loudons met many families in the same situation, some of them not so fortunate.
In March 2013, the family set up the Morgan and Friends fund through St. Baldrick’s Foundation.
“We’re really privileged to provide a platform,” said Traci Shirk, a spokeswoman for St. Baldrick’s, which raised a $21.2 million last year for cancer research.
The Morgan and Friends fund, which has raised more than $70,000 since 2013, has contributed a $162,000 grant to Dr. Nickhill Bhakta of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.
Dr. Bhakta will be investigating the magnitude of chronic health conditions experienced by childhood cancer survivors to inform future approaches for prevention and early detection to maximize long-term survival and quality of life.
“This is an awesome opportunity to test the value of what I’m working on,” he said.
Melissa said they selected Dr. Bhakta’s research because it matched perfectly with what Morgan was going through after her treatment.
Also in 2013 the Loudons participated in a head-shaving event in North Canton, which already was established in honor of Abbey Foltz, who was diagnosed with cancer five years before her death at 19 in 2000.
Since then, the family has continued its involvement with the event. The next one is to take place in 2016, which will be its 14th year.
“We’ve become our own advocates,” Melissa said.