Like Lucas’s diagnosis, most neuroblastoma cases are discovered by age 2.
Neuroblastoma – Lucas’s Story
Lucas was 2½ years old when he became sick with stomach pain on and off for about 6 weeks. He had flu-like symptoms and at times, would fall to the floor in pain. His mother would take him to the doctor repeatedly and they never found anything. They took an x-ray of his stomach and saw that it was dilated. However, the doctors attributed this to Lucas' crying and taking in a lot of air.
The Diagnosis
Finally, at a visit, the doctors took a CAT Scan of his abdomen and found a 6-inch mass. He was diagnosed with stage 3 neuroblastoma. The doctors told Lucas’s mom, Kristin, to bring him to the University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital, Fairview. They went that night.
The doctors recommended extreme measures to shrink the tumor. He underwent 6 rounds of chemotherapy, once every three weeks. They collected stem cells for a stem cell transplant, but before they could do that, he had 14 rounds of radiation in his abdomen. Lucas was finally ready for the stem cell transplant a little more than six months from original diagnosis.
After the high doses of chemotherapy, Lucas had bloody stools and vomited for weeks. Essentially, the doctors said it tore him up from his mouth all the way down. He still has scars on his tongue and had to be fed through a tube. Lucas continually made progress, but as his mom said, "it was like teaching him to eat all over again."
Going Home
Finally, a little more than one year from diagnosis, Lucas and his family got to go home.
Currently, Lucas is doing well and is enjoying being a normal young boy. For years Lucas and his care team continued to fight the living cancer cells in his body with a high-dose of medicine. The cancer cells remained in the tumor that was never removed, but the treatments worked and Lucas’s disease is now considered "stable and calcified". He deals with some long-term effects of his disease like growth, hearing and liver issues. Children’s Cancer Research Fund continues to support investigations into improving childhood cancer treatments while minimizing the side-effects and long-term effects of these treatments.
Lucas loves riding his bike, running through the sprinkler, catching frogs, bugs and fish. But whenever he gets sick, it causes a terrible feeling in the pit of his mom’s stomach. "I get so scared" says Lucas’s mom. The family continues forward with a positive attitude, especially prior to scans. "We don’t anticipate any change," says Kristin, "Lucas is doing great. We are so proud of him!"
