Toward the end of May 2026, Wesley began experiencing frequent need for urination. His parents took him to urgent care thinking he might have a UTI, and there they discovered a mass larger than a softball attached to his bladder. On Wednesday, June 3rd, 2026, the surgeons cut a big gash in his abdomen to remove it. They were able to remove the whole tumor and, despite its size, there is currently no indication that it spread beyond his bladder. But preliminary pathology reports indicate that it is rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and fast-growing cancer. Final pathology reports in the next few days will confirm the precise kind of cancer that it is and what is the grade of the tumor. They’ll have a PET scan on June 15th to check for any spread through the body.

In any case, the standard of care is 6-8 months of extremely aggressive chemotherapy and radiation to ensure everything is killed off. “These kinds of cancer can come back with a vengeance,” the oncologist said. Because chemo makes the skin more susceptible to radiation, sun damage and skin cancer; and because chemo suppresses the immune system, Wesley is now looking at a very isolated remainder of the year, even under the best case scenario. Wesley spends every day helping his grandparents, going on hospital visits with my dad, and generally being a joy around the church and the neighborhood. He said to Pastor Hawkins after his surgery: “When I went with you to visit all those people in the hospital, I didn’t know that I would have to be in the hospital too.”

This page is to begin to support the Kopp family with the innumerable financial needs that arise in the course of grueling chemotherapy and radiation treatment.