P.E.I. youngster back home after cancer battle

Cammie Richard is back playing with her dolls at her Summerside, P.E.I., home after enduring a 10-month stay in Halifax and Toronto hospitals battling neuroblastoma.

The three-year-old has returned to her own bedroom, a room thatany toddler would want, packed full of books, toys and stuffed animals.

Many of the toys were given to Cammie at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, where she stayed during her treatment forthe cancer that starts in the nerves.

The Island girlhad tumours in her abdomen, ribcage, skull and legs, and getting rid of them was a brutal process, according to her mother, Melissa Hackett.

"She went through 70 days of [chemotherapy], every 10 days, she went through [a] 19-hour surgery in September, she went through, it was supposed to be, 14 radiations minus two because she had her heart condition, so she did have a problem with her heart just recently," Hackett said.

"And in Toronto we had[gone] through the conditioning chemo for a straight week which is really high doses of chemo, and then followed by a stem-cell transplant and then the 100 days of isolation."

That isolation period ended this week, allowing Cammie to finally come home from the Halifax-based hospital with her mother.

Cammie's older brother andsister, Brianna, and stepdad Mike Arsenault are thrilled to have her back in the house.

"It's nice to have everyone home under the same roof where they're supposed to be, and it's nice to see her so healthy and cheery all the time," Arsenault said.

Brianna said they are catching up and enjoying the same activities that sisters normally do.

"I've been playing with her a lot, like games and all that, and it's very fun to have her home," Brianna said.

So far,Cammie seems to be having fun too back at home with her family.

Despite the cancer treatment, her mom said she's got lots of energy.

But the treatment has long-term side effects. For instance, there is a chance her growth could be stunted and she may never be able to have children of her own.

For Hackett, the more immediate concern is to stop the cancer from coming back.

"It's going to take a couple two to five years to say she's in remission with all the scans and whatnot," she said.

"So once those years are over, we can actually say it's over."

Until that point, the family is thinking positively about the end of Cammie's cancer fight and is getting ready to welcome a new baby in June.

With her health continuing to improve, Cammie can now start practising for her new role as a big sister.