On December 26, 2006, a 10x11 cm tumor was found in Elizabeth’s abdomen. The tumor was removed and it, along with one of the four removed lymph nodes, tested positive for neuroblastoma with amplified n-myc. Elizabeth was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma. 

Elizabeth was operated on again to set the port that would deliver six rounds of induction chemo. Along the way she had another smaller mass removed and several ports replaced, she then had an autologous stem cell transplant – requiring her to be an inpatient at Children's Hospital of  Philadelphia (CHOP) for six weeks. After this she had 10 rounds of radiation and several courses of high-level Accutane.

Elizabeth was in the process of being randomized into a clinical trial for monoclonal antibodies when neuroblastoma was detected in her bone marrow. Because of this, she was no longer eligible for the trial. But the neuroblastoma team at CHOP, made possible by the funding from Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF), was able to petition and win clearance from the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute to allow Elizabeth to receive the experimental treatment not on study, but through compassionate release. She was given four rounds of monoclonal antibody treatment, and on her fourth birthday, April 21, 2008, the results of her scans and tests were all negative. She has been NED ever since.

Today, Elizabeth is a sophomore in high school, and she and her family are proud supporters of ALSF. "Without the support of ALSF and the research and treatments they support, we would not be celebrating another year with our daughter," said Martha, Elizabeth's mom.

 
Updated by Martha Buell, Elizabeth’s mom
November 2019