Magnificent Myles’s Fight Against Cancer

At just nearly 3 years old, Myles McLaughlin is in the fight for his life. He and his family need all of our help.


On May 6, 2019 he was diagnosed with an extremely aggressive and rare soft tissue cancer called  Rhabdomyosarcoma. Unfortunately, Myles’ diagnosis is estimated at an advanced stage (tests still coming in) making this extremely high risk due to the size and location of the tumors in his abdomen and lungs.


Up until a week ago, Myles was a smiley, happy, funny and VERY smart almost 3 year old who loves trucks, diggers, reading books and playing with his dog, Hank.  With very little signs or symptoms, his diagnosis was a huge, overwhelming shock to everyone. There simply aren’t words to describe how terrible this is.


His parents, Tim and Laura, are coping as best they can with this surreal new reality for their son and their family. Myles' treatment is taking place at Oakland Children’s Hospital and mom and dad have been by his side around the clock. They are all sleeping in Myles' tiny hospital room trying to keep him as comforted as possible as they await information from oncologists and specialists for potential treatments. His tumors continue to grow and press on his abdomen but we are hopeful that chemotherapy and radiation can help to shrink them enough to be surgically removed. This is a relentless and very aggressive disease,  and they will need to be just as aggressive in treatment to fight this. Myles will be in and out of the hospital battling for his life for the foreseeable future.


As we all try to process this horrific news, we are hopeful to be able to help them with all of the costs they are and will be incurring.  From just supporting a pet sitter for their incredible dog, to rent, food, medical bills and more, we know this is only the very beginning of bills and costs that are going to pile up.


More is changing in their lives too. Laura is currently 6 months pregnant with another baby boy who is due in early September. Tim just started a brand new job. They are currently on Laura’s UC Berkeley student health insurance plan which could become inadequate if they pursue clinical trials/ alternative care options, where they are likely to have significant out of pocket expenses and Tim is on medical leave from work. 


Additionally, they had hoped to move from their one-bedroom apartment to a place with more space to welcome their new son and now, with Myles’ future medical support requirements, they must move and do so quickly. Their current home is too small for caregivers and has dangerous flights of stairs (as we see often in old homes in northern California) too treacherous to carry Myles up and down if/when he is able to come home.


HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP! - Our primary focus is to help provide financial support for when they need it.  You can personally donate money but you can also share this link with your community and network. The more people who see this, the more help we can get to Myles. 



With the donations raised here we will prioritize finding a new place for them to live that is closer to the hospital and able to accommodate them, caregivers and medical support for Myles, the new baby and their dog. Following that, we will leverage donations for their bills, medical expenses, meal trains and other care and support they may need.

And whatever money is donated and not needed for Myles, Tim and Laura will donate to a cause to help other kids fight cancer. 

We do not want Tim and Laura to focus or stress about anything financial right now.  They need all of their focus to be on support and care for Myles.


Any amount you can donate will help this beautiful 3 year old little boy and his family fight this tragedy.  It takes a village and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for joining this fight.    Please share this link with your community and network.