Lukas is a joyful one-year-old who has been diagnosed with stage IV metastatic hepatoblastoma — a rare liver cancer that has spread to his lungs. His neighbors have come together to support Lukas and his family through years of treatment, hospital stays, and recovery ahead.

Background

Lukas is a bouncy one-year-old ray of light who loves playing with his big sister and chasing bubbles. In late September his life was upended when he developed a dangerously high fever and specialists diagnosed him with an extremely rare and aggressive pediatric liver cancer that had already spread to his lungs.

We’re raising funds to support Lukas and his family in his fight against stage IV metastatic hepatoblastoma. The young family face a long and difficult road together: years of chemotherapy, weekly hospital stays, the possibility of a liver transplant, and many other unpredictable and unthinkable challenges.

This campaign is organized by Lukas’s neighbors who love seeing his bright little smile light up the block. He’s always waving, always curious, and always full of joy. Even now, between hospital stays, we’re grateful for the moments when we catch sight of him outside again: a little thinner, his hair beginning to fall, but still smiling ear to ear and waving enthusiastically at everyone he meets.

Lukas’s Story

A few weeks after his first birthday, Lukas spiked an alarmingly high fever. His parents rushed him to the emergency room at New York-Presbyterian Methodist where an observant doctor noticed a firmness in his abdomen and ordered an ultrasound. The scan revealed a 10 cm mass in his liver. Within hours, Lukas was in an ambulance to Weill Cornell Children’s Hospital, where further tests found a spread of nodules in his lungs.

He would spend the next three weeks enduring blood draws, scans, and biopsies — and beginning chemotherapy for stage IV metastatic hepatoblastoma.

The shift was sudden and devastating. One moment, Lukas was laughing with his big sister and learning to walk and talk; the next, he was surrounded by masked doctors, IV lines, and procedures no baby should ever have to face. Now, because chemotherapy has left his immune system so fragile, he can’t even cuddle with his sister — the two who used to be inseparable now have to wave to each other from across the room.

And yet, through it all, Lukas has shown remarkable strength and spirit. As he finishes his first round of chemotherapy, glimpses of his cheerful personality are returning — giggling, clapping, and charming every nurse and doctor who enters his room.

Life at Home

Lukas’s diagnosis has transformed daily life for his family. His parents are learning to balance life between the hospital, home, and work, trading shifts so one can be by Lukas’s bedside while the other cares for his big sister, a spirited five-year-old kindergartner who misses her little brother deeply.

Because Lukas’s immune system is now severely compromised by chemotherapy, the siblings must be kept apart for much of the time. Every small cough or sneeze now carries new weight, and any sign of fever means rushing back to the hospital for emergency evaluation.

Most recently, one of those fevers led to a four-day hospital stay in isolation, where Lukas needed G-CSF bone marrow growth support to help raise his neutrophil count before he could safely return home.

Through all of this, Lukas’s family has been deeply grateful for the incredible community surrounding them: neighbors who babysit his sister, drop off meals, and run errands so his parents can focus on what matters most. That support has been a lifeline during these long, unpredictable weeks.

How Your Support Helps

Lukas’s treatment will be long and complex. Funds raised here will go directly toward helping his family cover:

Thank You

Nothing can guarantee what lies ahead — but with your help, Lukas’s parents can focus on what matters most: giving him the best possible chance to fight and heal.

Every donation, message, or act of kindness brings them strength on this difficult road. If you can’t donate, you can help by sharing this link to your network, or you can provide meals or practical support by joining their volunteer coordination page.

Thank you for standing with Lukas and his family. Your generosity means more than words can express.