Alyssa Smith likes princesses. She does gymnastics. She takes swimming lessons. She gets moody sometimes. And she occasionally fights with her big sister.

In short, she’s a typical 4-year-old.

She doesn’t remember a lot about being a baby. But as all mothers do, Alyssa’s mother, Tawnia, has photos of her as an infant. They are glued to poster boards.

There are photos of Alyssa swaddled in blankets. There’s one of Alyssa with big sister, Taylor. One with her father, Bob. There’s another that’s a little hard to look at. Alyssa is in a diaper, a pacifier is in her mouth; her belly is distended with a web of veins clearly visible beneath her delicate skin.

According to Tawnia, at the time the photo was taken, Alyssa measured 21 inches in length and the circumference of her belly was 20 ¾ inches.

When Alyssa looks at the photo now, she says, “Oh, poor sick baby.”

She doesn’t remember being that baby — a baby with cancer.

When Alyssa was only 28 days old, she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a type of childhood cancer that usually arises in the adrenal glands and can affect the kidneys. According to the American Cancer Society, about 650 people are diagnosed with neuroblastoma each year in the United States.

In a story about Alyssa the Independent Record published on Thanksgiving Day four years ago, Tawnia said this: “All we know for sure is that we want our little angel to be cancer-free and be able to come home to Montana to be with her family.” 

At that time, Alyssa was being treated at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.; Tawnia and Bob were living at a nearby Ronald McDonald House. Alyssa was about to start her third round of chemotherapy.

This Thanksgiving, the Smith family is traveling from Helena to Turner, where Alyssa will be with her 10 cousins and other extended family members. She’s been in remission since March 3, 2006.

“All of us are going to be together,” Tawnia said Wednesday. “The experience with Alyssa brought us all together. Everybody endured it. Everybody came out to Mayo when she was there. It has brought us close together. It brought the whole family together.”

Tawnia said having a child with cancer has taught her a lot about family and making the most of her time with loved ones.

“Life has totally changed,” she said. “Before, everything had to be perfect. My kids had to be perfect — their hair, their clothes. Now I’m just grateful for every day we spend together.”

Alyssa’s pediatrician, Dr. Blayne Fritz, said when a family has to deal with cancer it can change them.

“They can either become difficult or they become humble,” he said.

The Smiths are definitely the latter.

“They just realize that this world is not in our hands,” he said. “You have to be humble and accept what God puts in your life. They enjoy life and each other. They were given another chance and they appreciate that time.”

Last month, the Smiths spent a family vacation at Disney World, courtesy of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Added to the scrapbook of Alyssa’s life are photos of her with Cinderella, Princess Jasmine (from Disney’s “Aladdin”), a lanyard that allowed her and her family to skip lines for the amusement park’s rides, ticket stubs from Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

The family visited five parks in four days during the whirlwind trip to Orlando, which started with a limo ride to the Helena airport.

Once the family arrived at Give Kids the World, a resort specifically for kids with life-threatening illnesses and where the Smiths stayed during the entire trip, it became all about Alyssa. She and her sister were given the master suite, ice cream was on the breakfast menu every day, dining with princesses was a regular option.

Alyssa becomes shy when asked about what she liked best about the trip, but 10-year-old Taylor enthusiastically fills in the details. There was Animal Kingdom, the Yak and Yeti restaurant, SeaWorld, two parades, armadillos, geckos and lots of frogs.

Alyssa, still quiet, decides to bring out the stuffed animals she collected on the trip — Shamu, Dory (from “Finding Nemo”), Tinker Bell and many more.

She dances around the room with them.

Dr. Fritz said Alyssa’s health is “fantastic.”

“We’d all be very surprised if her cancer recurred,” he said.

Tawnia still gets teary-eyed when she talks about Alyssa’s ordeal as an infant.

“When I look at the pictures I relive it,” she said. “Alyssa doesn’t remember. She won’t remember chemo. But she’ll always remember Disney World.”

Lifestyles editor Peggy O’Neill: 447-4074 or peggy.oneill@helenair.com