In 2009, my son Nate was diagnosed with stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma cancer. Neuroblastoma is a solid tumour cancer of the nerve cells and for Nate, the tumour sat on top of his right kidney with cancer also in 98 percent of his bone marrow. He was only two years old and I was on maternity leave with his five-month-old brother. Nate?s little body was riddled with cancer and would require nearly every treatment available to save him.
Nate underwent intensive chemotherapy, a major surgery, radiation, immunotherapy, and a stem cell transplant that caused pain, barbaric side effects, and left him extremely immune compromised, leading to much time inpatient at the hospital isolated to keep him safe.
Just when we thought we were through the worst of it, Nate relapsed with a brain tumour. We were told that a neuroblastoma relapse in the brain was fatal and that we should take him home and enjoy our last few months. But we refused to give up. We found a promising clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York City with about a 75 percent response rate. After another surgery and more chemotherapy and radiation, Nate was able to go to New York City for treatment. He received two innovative immunotherapy treatments, and after five years of continuous treatment, Nate was finally cancer-free.
Going through those five years of hell?there is no other way to describe it?taught us a lot about resiliency and most importantly, how to get through a crisis.
When COVID-1...