Less than a week after her first day of eighth grade, Sophia LaBorde was back on the 12th floor of Oishei Children’s Hospital.
The 13-year-old from Olean was having complications from her treatment for fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma – a rare liver cancer that affects around 1 in 5 million people.
But to brighten her day, a nurse brought Sophia her favorite Starbucks drink.
“All of the nurses here are very amazing,” Sophia said. “They make it very enjoyable.”
Sophia was diagnosed with cancer in June 2022 when she was 12 years old. She was rapidly losing weight and had no appetite. She told her parents that something was not right and they brought her to the doctor.
“She’s always been very mature and very open with us,” Sophia’s mom, Alicia LaBorde, said. “And we’ve always taught her to trust herself and we would trust her when she tells us that something’s going on. She was very adamant that something was wrong.”
After doctors ruled out other potential causes, Sophia got an ultrasound and it showed cancer on her liver, lymph nodes and lungs.
Since then, Sophia’s treatment has included chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy and surgery. Sophia and her parents have spent a lot of time at Oishei Children’s Hospital over the past year and the staff there has become like family, LaBorde said.
The nurses are “phenomenal,” LaBorde said, taking time to play with the kids and brighten their days. The doctors are equally as great, especially Sophia’s doctor, Ajay Gupta, a pediatric oncologist with Roswell Park Oishei Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders…
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