When Kristin Bowden and her husband Dakota learned that their then three-year-old daughter Lula Beth had pediatric kidney cancer, they were shocked by the diagnosis.
“When the words ‘It’s cancer’ came out of the doctor’s mouth, they really got on my knees,” Bowden told TODAY parents. “You never expect it to be your child – it’s always just a sad, heartbreaking story you hear about others.”
Bowden, a professional photographer, snapped photos of Lula’s cancer journey to share on Instagram.
“I want to share our story to give others hope that even in the toughest fights, good things are still around the corner,” explained Bowden, “so that we never lose hope and always look for the light in things. “
Bowden says her young daughter was sick in March 2020. While her intuition told her that Lula had more than the flu, the mother of two said she was expecting a diagnosis of a condition like appendicitis or a kidney infection and was devastated to learn that Lula had Wilm’s tumor Had stage 2 and needed surgery to remove both the mass and her kidney. After surgery, Lula required 18 rounds of chemotherapy over 22 weeks.
When Lula started shedding her hair from the treatments, Bowden’s son Kohen, 8, asked for a haircut that would show his little sister his support. Bowden took powerful pictures of Lula shaving her head and also shaving her brother’s hair.
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“Kohen really is heaven sent,” said Bowden. “He was such a rock and light during this trip. When Lula got to the point where we had to shave her hair, he didn’t hesitate and offered his sister to shave his hair too so she wouldn’t have to go through alone is really a real brother bear – so protective and always wanting the best for her. “
Bowden says Lula completed her treatments “like a champion”. Today the 4-year-old is cancer free and will have quarterly scans for the next four years to monitor her health.
Bowden recently shared another powerful Instagram post showing Lula three months after chemotherapy versus seven months after remission. The post went viral because of its important message: “Never lose hope.”
Before Lula’s diagnosis, Bowden said her life had not been affected by cancer. Now that that is the case, the Vernal, Utah mom says she will forever be a child cancer awareness advocate and share her family’s story on Instagram.
“As a mother, you always want to protect your child and relieve their pain, but you can’t with cancer and that was one of the hardest parts,” she said. “But I am also so blessed that she is cancer free and taught me never to take a day for granted.”
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