A Kennesaw first-grader is fighting back against a painful bone cancer.
Doctors removed 6-year-old Lyris Thomas' femur last year. After six months of chemotherapy, Lyris is back on her feet again.
The Kennesaw Charter first-grade student got her bone cancer diagnosis back in April of last year after her leg wouldn't stop hurting. She spent six of the last eight months in the hospital with her mother and father close by. During that time, depression set in, according to her mother, Adrienne Thomas.
"It's been very difficult. You have your moments where you try to stay positive for the kid's sake," Adrienne Thomas said.
Lyris lost her hair three weeks after her treatments. The family stepped in show support.
"We all made a big ordeal of it and shaved -- Daddy shaved his head, we shaved the baby's head. My niece back home shaved her head…We made a big deal so she wouldn't be uncomfortable," Adrienne Thomas said.
Adrienne Thomas says cancer among children is more common than most people realize and it can create a real hardship on the family finances.
"I almost had to let the business go because I couldn't work. I really couldn't work. So when you are used to having a certain amount of income coming in and now you are down one person, I mean, it got really bad," said Thomas.
Lyris, who is now a Girl Scout, is looking forward to returning to some of favorite activities, such as roller skating and dancing. She will be featured in an upcoming benefit in April benefiting Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's AFLAC Cancer Center.
Black Ties for Cancer will showcase several children with cancer during a gala and fashion show.
Wednesday, June 19 2013 10:01 PM EDT2013-06-20 02:01:02 GMT
Invision/AP photo
The actor James Gandolfini, best known for his award-winning portrayal of New Jersey mobster Tony Soprano in the HBO series "The Sopranos," has died in Italy. He was 51.
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Joe Torre's daughter caught a 1-year-old boy who fell from a fire escape outside a second-floor apartment in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn Wednesday morning.
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Wednesday, June 19 2013 6:51 PM EDT2013-06-19 22:51:22 GMT
Franklin Reyes, 17, was in court Wednesday. He is charged with the death of 4-year-old Ariel Russo.
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Wednesday, June 19 2013 6:13 PM EDT2013-06-19 22:13:15 GMT
More than 70 percent of New Jersey residents have seen or heard the state's "Stronger than the Storm" advertising campaign, according to a new Rutgers-Eagleton poll.
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Wednesday, June 19 2013 4:30 PM EDT2013-06-19 20:30:42 GMT
The FBI has found possible human remains in a dig at the New York City house once occupied by a famous gangster. An FBI spokesman confirmed Wednesday that agents found material that they want to test as part of an investigation.
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The driver of the vehicle that left several people injured and a trail of destruction in the area of 2nd Avenue and East 4th Street in the East Village has been arrested.
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Wednesday, June 19 2013 3:38 PM EDT2013-06-19 19:38:42 GMT
By MATT ALVAREZ NEW JERSEY (MYFOXNY) -- Nearly eight months later after Superstorm Sandy, many Jersey Shore families are still displaced from their homes. The storm destroyed Pam Vasquez's family home
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Wednesday, June 19 2013 1:46 PM EDT2013-06-19 17:46:33 GMT
June 19 is National Dine Out Day. Restaurants and vendors across the country are contributing a percentage of their revenues for the day to the NJ Relief Fund to benefit Superstorm Sandy victims.
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Lyris Thomas is battling bone cancer.
