Super Xander

On June 11th we took Xander to see his pediatrician for a mass in his scrotum, which we and his Dr. originally thought was a torsion, a twisted testicle. When his Dr. realized the mass didn't have any of the signs of a torsion, he immediately sent us for an ultrasound and to see a urologist in Tampa that day. By 6pm that day, after an ultrasound, a urologist appointment and later a CT scan, we were told they were 99% sure that it was actually paratesticular rhabdomyosarcoma. The mass and his left testicle were removed on June 15th and the pathology of this rare cancer began. On June 22nd, we met with one of Xander's oncologists and learned that while they were still working to find out more details on the tumor itself, we now knew for a fact he had embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma - ERMS. Xander's port placement and first round of chemo was scheduled for June 29th. We have since learned he is stage 2a, and although radiation was strongly considered, the doctors believe that we should wait on that. One, because it means another surgery - to move his right testicle into his body to protect it from the radiation and two, just in case it comes back... Which unfortunately, is fairly common with this type of cancer. 

We are now almost halfway through his scheduled chemo and while physically Xander has done pretty well, emotionally it is beginning to take a toll. Our medical bills have started literally rolling in, and while we have done okay so far, it is not always easy. We have been asked by several people over the months to set up this account, but never thought we should. We have been very blessed by MANY of you already, and we appreciate it more than we could ever put into words. For those of you that have requested this type of platform to give, we thank you so much for your kind hearts. And for those that have reached out and just kept in touch, we feel blessed to know you. We appreciate ALL of the support. ❤️