Hillsborough 3-Year-Old Fighting Brain Cancer Needs Your Help

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — A Hillsborough family is dealing with unimaginable heartache after their three-year-old daughter, Adeline Eick, was recently diagnosed with brain cancer, a grade III glioma known as an anaplastic astrocytoma.

Adeline was born with an extremely rare genetic disorder called Constitutional Mismatch Repair Deficiency Syndrome (CMMRD). Although her parents Christine and Ed Eick did not discover that she had it until she was diagnosed on March 17, said Laura Lombardi, Christine's sister and Adeline's Aunt.

CMMRD is a condition that greatly increases Adeline's chance of developing tumors in childhood leading to brain cancer, cancers of the blood, endometrial cancers, gastrointestinal cancers, and more. Almost all people with CMMRD syndrome develop cancer, often multiple times, before age 18.

There is no cure, said Lombardi.

On April 30, an MRI revealed that Adeline has a 2cm mass on the temporal/parietal lobe border of her brain. Additional abnormalities were also found on her brain that the oncologists believe could become tumors in the future.

On June 15, two days before Adeline's third birthday she underwent brain surgery. On June 19 when Adeline was being discharged from the hospital her parents Christine and Ed were told she had brain cancer.

"Adeline will need to begin treatment (likely immunotherapy) as soon as she heals from her brain surgery. She will need infusions every two to three weeks. We don't know for how long, or the side effects. We fully trust her incredible team of doctors and experts though, and are staying SO POSITIVE for our hero, Miss Adeline," said Lombardi.

Lombardi has set up a GoFundMe fundraising website to help the Eick family with all of the medical expenses associated with Adeline.

"Adeline faces lifelong invasive testing. The probability of her having multiple cancers over the course of her lifetime is extremely high," said Lombardi. "Christine and Ed, as parents, will be dealing with feelings of sadness, anxiety, depression, hopelessness, anger, and confusion for years to come. They know they need to be strong and stay positive for Adeline's sake. They will be engaging with therapists and support groups with other parents of children with cancer and rare diseases, many of which are specialized, and add on additional expenses."

As of Monday just over $20,000 has been raised of the $100,000

You can also follow Adeline's journey at facebook.com/adelineprevails or adelineprevails.com.

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