Because of Ezra

Ezra Matthews

Ezra was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma on October 4th, 2009 at the age of 13 months.

The day before Ezra’s 2nd birthday the Matthews family discovered he’d relapsed already, less than 4 months out of stem cell transplant. This meant his neuroblastoma was very aggressive, and there was no current cure. They were slated to start a trial using a drug called Nifurtimox, but Ezra’s condition began deteriorating rapidly, and he was unable to qualify for the trial – literally less than an hour before he was about to get the first pill.

On November 8th, at 2:50am, Ezra passed on. The neuroblastoma had kept growing, and although they did one last round of chemo in Orlando, it didn’t stop, and early early on a Monday morning Kyle and Robyn lay in his bed with him and held him as he died. We miss him.

Malia Jusczyk

On April 1, 2011, it was official: 2 ½-year-old Malia Dakota Jusczyk’s carefree life of Disney World and pony rides, soccer practice and swimming pools, came to a grinding halt. A CT scan revealed that Malia’s recent “tummy aches” were caused by a large tumor lodged in her abdomen. The solid mass wrapped around major blood vessels and pushed against her kidney and aorta.

A biopsy confirmed that Malia has a very aggressive childhood cancer known as stage IV (high risk) neuroblastoma. The cancer had metastasized into her bones and bone marrow (cranium, humerus, and femur). Immediately after the debilitating diagnosis, Malia’s parents, Megan and Glen, left Orlando, Florida in order to provide their daughter with the best treatment currently available to her at the Children’s Hospital/Dana-Farber Jimmy Fund Clinic in Boston, Massachusetts.

Brooke Hester

Brooke Elizabeth is 5 ½ years innocent.

Her first strange sign of what would later be diagnosed as full blown aggressive stage IV neuroblastoma cancer came September 21, 2010 with a phone call from Brooke’s daddy while her mother was away at a state science education conference.

Our perfectly happy, healthy toddler had a sudden painless limp which rapidly progressed into debilitating pain and a trail of various misdiagnoses. By Thursday, November 18, 2010, the world crashed down upon us as answers came and the word cancer arrived in our lives accompanying our child’s name.

Grayson Dragon Hernandez

Grayson Dragon Hernandez was 5 1/2 months old when his parents took him to emergency room at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans for a barium enema. They did a routine x-ray and ultrasound but before giving him the enema they asked his parents to follow them back to our exam room. A few seconds later an oncologist walked into the room and their whole world changed. Grayson had a 9x9x6 cm tumor in his lower abdomen. They suspected it was neuroblastoma and after a biopsy their suspicions were confirmed and it was determined to be Stage 3. As the rest of the world was ringing in the new year, Gray was receiving his first chemotherapy treatment.

Caden Shrauger

In March 2012, three months shy of his 4th birthday, Caden began complaining of leg pain while on vacation in Utah.

On March 30, 2012, Caden was flown 700 miles from home to Seattle Children’s Hospital. The initial fear was leukemia, but tests pointed toward another type of cancer – Neuroblastoma. On April 3, doctors in Seattle diagnosed Caden with Stage 4, High Risk Neuroblastoma.

Scans in late August revealed that although the amount of cancer in Caden’s body is not getting worse and is improving, it did not respond as well as hoped, nor enough to proceed with the anticipated autologous bone marrow transplant. Caden has since completed a seventh round of chemotherapy and will travel to San Francisco for specialized, experimental radiation therapy. Caden will continue his fight against this horrible disease, and we long for the day when a cure is found.

Isabella Denisulk

Please pray for Isabella Denisulk, a beautiful warrior whose neuroblastoma has relapsed!

Alex Mandarino

On March 14, 2011 Alex’s urine test showed he had elevated levels of catecholamines, indicating he most likely had neuroblastoma. The CT scan confirmed it was neuroblastoma and it showed a tennis ball size tumor on his left kidney by his adrenal gland