September is Kick Childhood Cancer month, where MLS clubs raise awareness of the battle against childhood cancer. Vancouver Whitecaps FC are pleased to partner with BC Children’s Hospital to honour Evelyn Tseng as Kid Captain for our September 10 match against Portland Timbers.
Evelyn Tseng is an active, outgoing 10-year-old girl who loves dancing and doing cartwheels. However, when she was in her second grade of elementary school, life unfolded in a way that no one could have imagined. Evelyn came down with a fever and sore jaw, symptoms that a doctor at a walk-in clinic attributed to a virus. The pain and fever went away, but returned a week later; this time, it was the other side of her face that was sore and swollen. After two more visits to doctors, a physician ordered a blood test.
Evelyn’s mom, Cindy Lien, got a call that very same night from the lab telling her to take her daughter to BC Children’s Hospital right away. Within hours, the family got unfathomable news. The bubbly little girl who loves performing was diagnosed with childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a form of cancer in which the bone marrow makes too many immature lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. Besides fever and bone or joint pain, other symptoms include easy bruising or bleeding, pain or a feeling of fullness below the ribs, and painless lumps in the neck, underarm, stomach or groin.
Evelyn started chemotherapy the next day. She stayed at BC Children’s for four days every two weeks for treatment.
Today, Evelyn is doing well and almost completed her treatment. She’s excited about going back to school and seeing her friends again. The family is also incredibly grateful for the care they have received at BC Children’s Hospital. “They’re wonderful at Children’s,” Lien says. “They help us a lot. The doctors and nurses are really good, always explaining what we are going through.” She further explains “We’re hopeful, as this type of cancer is very curable.
