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“He’s my fighting Chance.” That’s how Virginia refers to her 11-year old son, Chance, a survivor of Stage IV Ewing Sarcoma PNET. “He is simply an amazing kid. And he’s my amazing kid.”
Chance was diagnosed in December 2008. Prior to his diagnosis, he had been complaining of back pain for more than four years. But nothing clinical ever showed up, despite numerous X-rays and examinations. “His back was a constant bother to him and at night, he experienced sharp back pains,” said Virginia. “We tried a variety of remedies, including buying him a new bed.” When nothing seemed to ease his pain, Virginia pushed her son’s doctors for answers.
After an MRI, it was determined Chance had a tumor on his spinal cord. The doctors remained optimistic and assured Virginia that it was probably nothing to worry about, but a follow-up was required. A biopsy subsequently followed. “I remember the huge hole in my stomach as I stood in the hallway, waiting and watching the doctors run in and out with vials. When they asked me to get my husband, that’s when I knew it was bad.” Shortly after, Virginia and her husband Ben, heard the words every parent fears, “your son has a rare form of cancer.”
Subsequent tests determined Chance’s cancer was in stage four. At the age of ten, Chance was young to be diagnosed with this type of cancer and its location was also atypical. The tumors proximity to his spinal cord and growth into the bone made it inoperable. The family braced for the long road ahead.
But Chance took the news in stride. “He was very quiet at first when we told him,” said Virginia. “But then, he said he knew all along something was very wrong. However, he was very relieved to finally know the cause of his pain.”
In the following months, Chance underwent a bone marrow transplant, as well as numerous rounds of chemotherapy and radiation. Virginia turned to The National Children’s Cancer Society for help. “Within a week of the diagnosis, we also find out Ben’s hours had been cut by 40 percent,” said Virginia. “The N.C.C.S. immediately sent us a check for meals and mileage costs. Over the next year, the N.C.C.S. was an invaluable resource to us and we educated ourselves about Chance’s illness through the N.C.C.S.’s books, teleconferences and financial assistance. We would have been lost without the organization.”
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| Chance’s treatments ended in September 2009. Since then, Chance has returned to some of his favorite past-times including bowling and Taekwondo, a sport in which he has earned a yellow belt. Which could be the reason why recently, according to his mother; he stuck his head out the car window and exclaimed with delight, “Yahoo, I kicked cancer’s butt!” |
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