By Daniel Lapham

Jennifer Burley knew the exact moment when everything was going to be fine. It was when her 3-year-old daughter, Mallory, looked up at her and said, “It’s OK, mommy. Jesus is making me better.” At the time, little Mallory was undergoing regular chemotherapy treatments for a form of cancer known as neuroblastoma.

Jennifer and Will Burley found out their daughter was sick with cancer in March. It was after she came home from day care with a black eye that never seemed to go away.

“We knew something was wrong,” Jennifer said. “My sister is a nurse and she has taken care of all my babies. We knew something was wrong, but didn’t know what.” Her sister is employed by a pediatrician in Oklahoma City.

After visiting three hospitals and facing constant questions of whether her daughter was suffering from abuse, Burley said she didn’t know what to do.
“Finally, my sister bugged the specialist enough that he agreed to look at Mallory,” she said. “After he did his tests he called us and said, ‘I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is this is definitely not a case of child abuse. The bad news is Mallory has cancer.’”

Neuroblastoma is a cancer that starts in the adrenal gland and then spreads throughout the body, Burley said.

“It usually affects infants and 2- to 5-year-olds,” she said. “For some reason infants have a pretty good chance of beating it, but the strain that affects the 2- to 5-year-olds is worse. There is a 20 percent survival rate.”

The latest tests on Mallory’s bone marrow and aspirate show significant progress, Burley said. “The chemo is working and the doctors are cautiously optimistic. If she keeps being receptive to the treatments, she could finish her treatments at the end of the year.”

Looking at her “beautiful little girl,” Burley smiled as her eyes began to water.

“When I look at my baby, how can I put a frown on my face,” she said. “She can still put a smile on her face and love life no matter what is going on with her. She was put here for a reason. I think she was a gift from God to show us that no matter what happens, you make a decision to live life to its fullest.

“Mallory is a fighter. She has more faith in her 3-year-old little body than most adults I have met.”

Watching her daughter fight this battle and knowing that she will be fine, no matter what, has built the faith of the entire family, Burley said.

“It’s hard, but I know everything is going to be OK.”