September Is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month
September Is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month
We are Honoring Cancer Warrior by Sharing their Story
We are Honoring Cancer Warrior by Sharing their Story
Meet Tre
Meet Tre
Cancer Survivor
Cancer Survivor
My name is William LaMar aka Tre. Back in 2013 when I was just 11 years old, I was
diagnosed with ALL Leukemia. This was a common childhood cancer that was treatable with chemotherapy. My case was a little different from normal because some of the cells went to my brain, so I also had to receive radiation as well. The remission process was challenging and had its ups and downs throughout the three and a half years of treatment. Throughout this process, I’ve had many supporters in my corner; family, teachers, friends, nurses, and child life at the hospital. Even though I was diagnosed with cancer, the U of M hospital made sure I had the right support and tools to be able to be a survivor. Now that I'm in remission and have been cancer free for 9 years, I'm attending Schoolcraft college and I am a member of the bowling team there. I'm majoring in Business and I'm looking forward to owning my own business later in life. This journey hasn’t been the smoothest, however, I’ve been able to stay positive about the situation and not let my diagnosis stop me from achieving my life goals.
Fighter Ryder
Fighter Ryder
Brian Tumor Survivor
Brian Tumor Survivor
In 2018 Ryder went to the ER for the first time. With what her mom thought was a virus ended up being an undefined Brain Tumor. Ryder spent a lot of time in LA Children's Hospital, receiving Chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Her balance was off and she had problems with her right eye as well as needed a hearing aid. Over the last five years Ryder has overcome many obstacles and is an amazing little girl. With the support of her family and community she now is enjoying school with NED = No Evidence of Disease. To learn more about this soon to be nine year old cancer warrior follow her Instagram page at fighter.ryder.
Ben Lee
Ben Lee
Brain Cancer Survivor
Brain Cancer Survivor
This is Ben
He has Anaplastic Ependymoma Grade III, RELA+
He was diagnosed in 2014 with a brain tumor that took up a little over a 1/4th of his brain. Since then he's had two more recurrences with a total of four brain tumors. Despite his disease, he still smiles and plays like there's no tomorrow. In January he will be two years of NED. He's now in the fifth grade and he loves RC Cars more than anything.
To learn more about Ben's Journey go to: https://a.co/7WtxyNc
Meet Lance
Meet Lance
Brain Cancer Survivor
Brain Cancer Survivor
Lance was born a perfect little baby. Then he had hydrocephalus at 2 months, followed by 4 malfunctions. The Doctor's never looked into why and we kept trucking along. At 10 months, in July 1996, we took him back up to LSPCH @Stanford for what we thought was another malfunction. It wasn't, but we got a call from the Dr that the tech saw a shadow and they wanted to know what it was. We went back up, he was sedated and had an MRI. We had our answer: Pinealblastoma. A brain tumor the size of a golf ball was in my baby boy's brain. On September 26, 1996, just 25 days after his 1st birthday he had a 6-hour surgery to remove about 80-90% of it. They couldn't take it all out without causing too much damage. We went home, he was on steroids, and waited for him to heal. Then 6 weeks later we started chemo. This is the part that most don't understand, chemo wasn't going to work, we were hoping it'd slow the progression until he was 3. Then we'd do radiation to the brain and spine. That was the plan, to wait because radiation to the brain and spine of a baby under 3 causes learning delays and cognitive issues. December 1996, we had a repeat MRI and found that chemo wasn't working. The tumor was back and we had no choice he had to start radiation. January of 1997, at 16 months old we traveled daily to Stanford, where Lance was sedated for 10 minutes of radiation. March 5th, 1997 was his last day. He's been in long-term remission since. Now at 27, we live with the complications of being a baby born with a brain tumor. He started puberty at 7 and had to have depo to stop it. He had growth hormone injections daily from age 3 to 13 because he wasn't producing any and wasn't growing. He is on thyroid medication. Then at age 17 in August of that year, he started having seizures. That along with short-term memory, OCD, Autism, and learning and cognitive delays have led to him being challenged. He's here, he's the sweetest person but his life isn't like your average 27-year-old.
He's at a day program and because of the seizures, they are having a hard time getting him a job. He volunteers at the library arranging books and stuff. He helps around the house, loves animals, and helps at home, and with family. He loves Legos and video games. ~ Charlotte (Lance's Mom)