Help Cameron Conquer Cancer!!

Just a few weeks ago, Cameron Rider, a 17-year-old junior, was giving all he had on the ice with his fellow Rutland Varsity Hockey team. This week, he heads to baseball practice every day after school with his brother Colin, as they are both getting ready for the high school’s upcoming baseball season. Within the next six weeks, he, his mother Kim, and his father Rob will head over to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where Cam will have surgery to remove cancer that was very recently found in his lung.

A simple cold in September 2022 that eventually turned into pneumonia was how this nightmare all began. Months of continued symptoms resembling pneumonia, along with several doctors’ visits, multiple rounds of antibiotics, inhalers, steroids, numerous ER visits, and a hospital stay left his parents desperately searching for answers. With no improvement being seen, his parents requested to have Cameron meet with a pediatric pulmonologist from UVM Medical Center. The pulmonologist immediately accelerated Cameron’s need to have a bronchoscopy since he was getting worse and the antibiotics were not helping. During the bronchoscopy, a mass, believed to be the result of something that Cameron had aspirated and scar tissue had then developed over, was blocking his airway and was removed during the procedure. They left UVM after the procedure, feeling hopeful, believing that after five long months, Cameron would finally start feeling better.

Five days after the procedure, the family would receive a phone call that would change their lives forever. Pathology had come back confirming that the mass was a cancerous tumor. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) of the lung is extremely uncommon, comprising only 0.1–0.2% of the primary lung malignancies and <1% of primary bronchial tumors. It is even rarer in children.

Cameron and his parents recently went to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston where they met with his surgeon and discussed his upcoming surgery. The surgeons will be performing a lobectomy of his left lung and also will be removing surrounding lymph nodes as a precautionary measure. Upon completion of the surgery, he will be in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for at least two days and then moved to the Pediatric Unit for one week. The family will be talking with his surgeons over the few weeks to discuss what Cam’s recovery and treatment plan will look like once he is able to come back home. Prior to Cameron’s surgery, which is tentatively scheduled for early May, he will also have a bronchoscopy and a PET scan done at Mass General, which will be taking place on April 12th. The surgeons are very optimistic.

Overall, cancer treatment is often complex. Even with good insurance, the costs from required tests, procedures, and co-pays are going to add up very quickly. In addition to medical expenses, there is so much more to consider such as: travel to and from medical appointments (gas, tolls, etc.,), lodging costs while Cameron is in the hospital, meals and parking at the hospital, and Cameron’s rehabilitation just to name a few. With a long and hard fight ahead of him, we want to help the family out financially so they can focus on Cameron’s health and recovery and not on the financial burden to follow. Anything that we can do to help Cam and his family will be so greatly appreciated.

Cameron has such a pure heart, he is respectful, compassionate, and has a level of humility that you don’t often see in a person so young. He is the type of person that will always be there for you, to help out in any way he can, and expect nothing in return. He is an incredibly talented athlete, who puts his heart and soul into anything he does. If you’ve ever watched Cameron on the ice, the ball field, or in the dojo, you would see a young man that doesn’t get intimidated when faced with a challenge. You would see a young man that approaches each obstacle head-on with perseverance, resilience, and tenacity because he knows that it is with those challenges that he will continue to grow as a person and an athlete. Nothing is going to hold him back or keep him down. He is not one to give up. Cam is a fighter!

Cameron has an amazing support system at home and surrounding him that will be there every step of the way. Also, for Cameron, knowing that he has his family, friends, a community, and all of you rallying around him, cheering him on from the side, will mean the world to him. We will keep you updated on Cam’s progress. Please keep sending good thoughts, words of encouragement, and prayers. We are so very grateful for you taking the time to read this and for helping this incredible young man and his family.