James Duncan, and Nicole Duncan

The Duncan Family has an unfortunate and heartbreaking update.

James lost is battle with cancer Saturday night 4/19. He was able to be at home comfortably in the care of his Mom, Dad, and little brother Wyatt until his passing. He was loved above and beyond by his family and friends. Throughout his battle with cancer, and throughout all his treatment and surgeries he was still able to be happy, playful, cheerful, a big brother, a shining bright light, and do all the things little boys love to do.

James is 2.5 years old. James was initially being seen by and endocrinologist for high blood levels of hormones and a CT scan was scheduled to rule out some causes. This scan showed that James had developed a tumor mass on his right adrenal gland. James was referred to Duke Children’s hospital where he was deemed a good candidate for surgical removal of the tumor. Surgery was successful and tumor was removed, however, a small tissue deposit that was of concern was found in the surgical area and was removed. Results of the biopsy on the removed tumor and tissue deposit showed to be an aggressive type of cancer. James was diagnosed with Adrenocortical Carcinoma Stage 3, which is a malignant tumor and very uncommon in children ( about 25 cases per year in the US) and, in his case, has shown capabilities of spreading outside the central tumor mass. James will need to have additional chemotherapy treatment that will last about 6 months to eliminate any remaining microscopic cancer cells that may remain to prevent regrowth of the cancer.

These funds will go directly to the Duncan family to help medical expenses and are greatly appreciated.