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Our Kids - Meet Jack

Ten-year-old Jackson, affectionately known as Jack to his friends and family, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in March of 2002. Neuroblastoma is a rare and aggressive form of cancer that begins in the adrenal glands, above the kidneys and often spreads to other organs.

Jack, 10, Cancer, Cerebral Palsy
and Neurofibromatomis

Children with this type of cancer generally receive their diagnosis in a later stage of the disease and the treatment is quite aggressive. Jack has undergone numerous rounds of chemotherapy, radiation and a bone marrow transplant at The Hospital for Sick Children. He has had multiple surgeries, including the removal of his right kidney where doctors discovered a large tumour.

In March 2008, Jack underwent orthopaedic surgery to correct his hip alignment, a symptom from cerebral palsy. He remained housebound for five weeks to recover. Doctors casted both of Jack’s legs and positioned them to stick straight out. He kept the casts on for a month and then underwent intensive physiotherapy to learn how to walk again.

Although he made progress in physiotherapy, in April 2008, he began to feel generally unwell and eventually stopped eating entirely. His parents decided Jack should go to SickKids. Medical scans revealed new tumours had developed in his chest - one deep against the spine under his lungs the other up high on the opposite side of his chest. SickKids specialists scheduled Jack for immediate surgery.

Jack’s tumours did not signal the return of his neuroblastoma but showed an earlier condition Jack had at birth, neurofibromatosis, had resurfaced. This condition causes spots and tumours to grow sporadically on the body and they can arise at any time. In January 2010, just after New Years, Jack began to feel poorly again. SickKids doctors discovered more tumours - one in the brain and three around the spine. After a five-and-a-half hour operation, SickKids surgeons successfully removed the tumours. Jack has finally been able to return home.

Jack will continue to grow tumours throughout his life and will continue to be closely monitored by SickKids. To date, Jack has undergone 10 surgeries with the possibility of more on the horizon. Despite Jack’s multiple medical conditions, he is a fighter and he has been able take on his challenges like a true hero. Imagine being so young and going through so much? Jack is the definition of bravery and why it’s so important to have a Hospital like SickKids to help kids like Jack remain hopeful and strong.

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