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>> I HAD EMILY JUNE 1, 1998.
AND IN MY FIFTH MONTH OF PREGNANCY,
THEY FOUND THAT SHE HAD A GIANT NECK MASS.
>> WE HAD A LOT OF QUESTIONS WHEN WE FIRST GOT THE TERATOMA
DIAGNOSIS.
>> IT WAS JUST SCARY BECAUSE WE NEVER HEARD OF THIS BEFORE.
>> THE THINGS THAT I WAS LOOKING FOR WERE DOWN SYNDROME
AND THE TYPES OF BIRTH DEFECTS THAT YOU HEAR ABOUT.
>> THERE WERE EIGHT FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS THAT WERE
PREGNANT AT THE SAME TIME AS ME, AND I WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT WAS
GOING TO HAVE A BABY THAT WAS GOING TO HAVE A PROBLEM.
>> THAT WAS THE HARDEST PART, I THINK, IS HAVING TO COME
TO TERMS WITH ALL THE THINGS THAT COULD GO WRONG.
>> BUT THE CARE THAT WE HAD DOWN AT CHILDREN'S AND ALL THE
DOCTORS AND NURSES JUST MADE IT REALLY COMFORTING FOR US,
AND THEY WERE REALLY HELPFUL IN WALKING US THROUGH EVERYTHING.
>> I THINK ANY TYPE OF TERATOMA IS ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT
THINGS TO DEAL WITH AS A PROSPECTIVE MOTHER AND FAMILY.
>> ONE DAY THEY MIGHT SEEM PERFECTLY IN CONTROL.
ANOTHER DAY THEY MIGHT BE ALL IN TEARS.
>> THEY COME TO US LOOKING FOR HELP,
AND THEY COME TO US LOOKING FOR HOPE.
>> IT'S A SITUATION THAT IS EXTREMELY STRESSFUL AND
DIFFICULT AND ONE THAT YOU NEVER ANTICIPATE WILL HAPPEN TO YOU.
>> SO THE GOOD NEWS FOR FAMILIES IS THAT THERE ARE PLACES LIKE
THIS WHERE THERE IS MULTIDISCIPLINARY EXPERTISE
THAT CAN ENHANCE THE BABY'S CHANCES TO SURVIVE
AND TO SURVIVE WITH A GOOD LIFE.
>> A TERATOMA IS A TUMOR THAT'S DERIVED FROM STEM CELLS, ACTUALLY.
AND THEY'RE THE TYPE OF STEM CELLS THAT CAN TURN INTO ANY
TISSUE OF THE BODY.
>> IMAGINE A TUMOR THAT CAN HAVE VIRTUALLY ANY SORT OF BODY
TISSUE WITHIN IT, YET IT BE IN A PLACE IN THE BODY WHERE THOSE
TISSUES DON'T NORMALLY OCCUR.
>> OFTENTIMES THEY CAN BE ALMOST AS BIG AS THE BABY, PRENATALLY.
AND SO IT'S VERY DIFFICULT FOR PARENTS TO EVEN IMAGINE WHAT
THEIR BABY MIGHT LOOK LIKE WITH THAT UGLY MASS EITHER ON THEIR
NECK OR THEIR BUTT OR IN THEIR CHEST.
>> TERATOMAS APPEAR IN THE MIDLINE IN UNUSUAL LOCATIONS--
THE TAILBONE, FOR A SACROCOCCYGEAL TERATOMA,
THE MEDIASTINUM, WHICH IS IN THE CHEST,
AND CERVICAL TERATOMAS, WHICH ARE IN THE NECK.
>> I THINK, OF ALL THE ANOMALIES THAT WE DEAL WITH ON A
RELATIVELY ROUTINE BASIS, THE TERATOMAS ARE PROBABLY
THE MOST DIFFICULT, CHALLENGING, AND FRUSTRATING.
>> TERATOMAS ARE QUITE RARE.
SACROCOCCYGEAL TERATOMAS ARE THE MOST COMMON TUMORS OF NEWBORNS.
>> THE CAUSE OF TERATOMAS IS MYSTERIOUS.
WE REALLY DON'T KNOW WHY THEY OCCUR.
>> IN THE FETAL PERIOD, EARLY NEONATAL PERIOD,
THESE ARE NONMALIGNANT TUMORS.
>> MOST OF THE TERATOMAS DIAGNOSED BEFORE BIRTH OR THOSE
DIAGNOSED IN NEWBORNS ARE NOT CANCEROUS YET.
BUT INVARIABLY, IF THEY ARE NOT DEALT WITH,
CANCER WILL OCCUR IN ALMOST ALL CIRCUMSTANCES.
>> SO WE LIKE TO RESECT THE TUMORS EARLY AND IN MOST
CIRCUMSTANCES IT'S CURATIVE.