Updated
Updated · NBC News · Jul 1
Nara Smith Reveals 2-Year-Old Daughter Has Widespread Cancer, Starting Chemotherapy
Updated
Updated · NBC News · Jul 1

Nara Smith Reveals 2-Year-Old Daughter Has Widespread Cancer, Starting Chemotherapy

3 articles · Updated · NBC News · Jul 1

Summary

  • Whimsy Lou, 2, was diagnosed late last year with cancer that had already spread, Nara Smith said in an Instagram video Wednesday.
  • Something "suspicious" first sent the child to the emergency room, and a pediatrician's concern led the family to a hospital, where doctors said chemotherapy had to begin immediately.
  • Smith did not disclose the cancer type but said navigating the diagnosis has been especially difficult while postpartum, caring for three other children and balancing hospital stays with work.
  • The model and cookbook author said online forums, social media and conversations with other hospital families helped ease her sense of isolation during treatment.

Insights

With childhood cancer rates rising, why are its causes a mystery and its research so underfunded?
While survival rates improve in the US, why is childhood cancer a death sentence for many globally?