Rotarian shares personal story of daughter’s battle with cancer

By: HEATHER BOGARD
Lifestyles Editor

May 10, Meeting
Rotarian Eric Gil addressed his fellow club members during the May 10, meeting of the Ville Platte Rotary Club. Dr. Don Hines was supposed to be his guest speaker, but he couldn’t make it so Gil decided to share his personal story about his daughter Sophie’s brain tumor and cancer.
At age 15, Sophie was diagnosed with Pineal Blastoma. He said it was a unique case because Sophie’s twin sister, Mary Margaret, was fine. He noted that there is no National Institute of Health centralized hospital for children in Louisiana to go to for cancer treatment. As a result, most end up going to Lafayette, New Orleans or Baton Rouge or out of state for treatment. As soon as they got the diagnosis, the family drove to Texas Children’s Hospital for Sophie to begin receiving treatment. As an NIH hospital, it is linked with all other NIH hospitals and information can be shared between doctors from across the country so patients can receive the best possible care.
Gil said the doctors there are “super specialized” in various areas and the most advanced technology is available. Sophie began a proton therapy protocol, which is very precise in treatment. He added that this treatment was not available five years ago. Gil said that the doctors told them the tumor was behind Sophie’s right eye and they were hoping to remove 50 percent of it. He said that much praying was done for a successful surgery, and following the eight and a half hour procedure, the doctor called his wife and him told them “I don’t know how we did it, but the tumor was just hanging like a grape. We snipped it off. We got it all.”
Gil also noted that many of the younger children that get the same type of cancer as Sophie don’t make it because their endocrine system had not yet been fully developed. In Sophie’s case, however, she already had an established endocrine system, which was destroyed by the therapy.
The family stayed in Texas with Sophie for the first two weeks but then she returned home to help with their younger brother as their parents traveled back and forth to Texas to be with Sophie.
Gil said after watching his daughter and family go through this, “I am a very different person after what I saw.” He said early detection is very important and health is a person’s most important asset. He thanked the community for all of the prayers and support that helped the family get through the difficult time. He said that Sophie has been in remission and she and Mary Margaret are graduating from Sacred Heart this month. He shared that Sophie plans on becoming a nurse so she can help and take care of others as she was helped and taken care of. He said “I can only imagine the care and compassion she can show her patients after what she has been through.”
Rotary President Mitch Fontenot congratulated first time Paul Harris fellows Steve Phillips and John Mayeux. He noted next year will mark the 100th anniversary of the Rotary Foundation and details would be coming in the next year about plans and fund raising events to celebrate the milestone anniversary. He also said that Channel 10 would be broadcasting live from the pavilion at the Northside Civic Center between 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. as part of a promotion for the Boys and Girls Club. He said that those wishing to host a food booth could do so for a $50 fee.