This sweet boy has been in our lives now for seven months, the best seven months of our lives.
In January, we noticed some bumps on his back in the muscle between the ribs. We were initially dismissive, but the bumps kept getting larger. We ended up doing an ultrasound, then an MRI, then a biopsy before we came to the diagnosis of rhabdoid tumor. This is a rare and aggressive tumor that affects infants usually from loss of a tumor suppressor called INI1.
Unfortunately, staging scans have shown that it is already spread and he has stage 4 disease. With this, chemotherapy will not meaningfully prolong his life or improve the quality of his life. Our goal is to maximize the quality of the time we have with this sweet boy, so he will not be going through traditional chemotherapy and will instead be receiving a trial of pembrolizumab, based on anecdotal data of potential success.
Lucas loves life and we so love life with Lucas. Big prayers for our sweet boy and for all the cancer warriors. They are the true heroes and deserve so much more.
Friends of Layla
Layla’s Legacy Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization funding innovative pediatric brain cancer research while bringing hope and help to families impacted by the disease.
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