Honored Kid

Connor J.

Age 17
Connor J. Kid Photo

Location

Libertyville, IL, US

Diagnosis

Brain or spinal cord tumor

Date of Diagnosis

November 2011

Status

Cancer-free

Treated At

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital

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My Story

Connor was a typical 4 year old boy that loved school and (mostly) enjoyed playing with his little brother when he started having migraine like headaches on Nov. 1, 2011. On November 9 an MRI found an 8cm mass (baseball size) in his left frontal lobe. We were rushed to Children's Memorial (now Lurie's Children's Hospital) where Dr. Tomita removed the whole tumor without any side effects. Unfortunately, in the next few days we would find out that it had metastasized to other parts of his brain and spine and that it is an extremely rare and aggressive form of brain cancer known as ATRT. He was given a 20-30% chance of living for 2 years. We decided to move to St. Jude’s in Memphis for his treatment to give him the best chance of survival. He started 6 weeks of full cranial spinal radiation in December 2011 and then completed 4 rounds of high dose chemo with stem cell rescue. In June 2012, we finally heard the most wonderful words of "No Evidence of Disease" on our last day at St. Jude. It has now been almost 8 years since we came home and Connor continues to be cancer free! He is truly a miracle! The doctors were constantly amazed by his strength and energy during treatment. We call him “Super Connor” because of his love of super heroes and the strength he gives us every day.

The Childhood Cancer Ripple Effect

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