Reuben vs Neuroblastoma
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Our beautiful and happy little boy Reuben was diagnosed with High Risk Neuroblastoma in October 2016, aged just 16 months. Scans revealed the tumour in his abdomen was very large and fast growing. It was crushing his right kidney, pushing up against his lung and was wrapped around a main blood vessel, making it difficult for him breathe. He was in a lot of pain and his stomach grew bigger and bigger in a matter of days. Reuben started chemotherapy immediately to shrink the tumour, to wait any longer would have been fatal.
This type of childhood cancer is rare and difficult to treat. Only 50-60% of children survive past 5 years from diagnosis. Treatment lasts approximately 16 months from being diagnosed. So far Reuben has responded well to his treatment. He is a strong and determined little boy and continues to surprise his doctors with how well he is coping. But he still has a long and gruelling journey ahead.
Since being diagnosed Reuben has endured 10 rounds of chemotherapy, which has made him very unwell at times and has caused his hair to fall out. This was followed by major surgery to remove the bulk of the tumour, after which he spent six solid weeks in hospital receiving intensive chemotherapy. Next he will undergo radiotherapy and immunotherapy.
We are aiming to raise funds to help us care for Reuben while he battles through treatment and beyond. So far we have managed to get by without asking for any financial assistance. We are reaching a point where our savings are runnng out.
Only one of us can work full time because caring for Reuben is a full time job with all of the hospital appointments and admissions that he needs. We live 35 miles from the hospital and the cost of fuel and parking each time can be very expensive, especially when we are visiting at least three times a week or are staying for a few weeks at a time. If Reuben gets a temperature at home, we have to take him into hospital immediately where he will stay for a minimum of 48 hours for a course of antibiotics. This means we have no choice but to sacrifice one of our jobs.
I'm sure many people will understand how hard it is raising a child with the cost of living today being so high. Imagine losing half of your family's income and incurring extra costs all because your child has a life threatening disease. We want to give him the same quality of life and opportunities that we could have given him, before cancer took that possibility away from him, and us.
We remain positive that Reuben will beat Neuroblastoma for good. He is the strongest and bravest little boy you could ever meet! Unfortunately this type of cancer has a high chance of coming back. About 60% of Neuroblastoma patients suffer a relapse either during or after treatment. If that happens we may need to seek alternative treatment that is not available through the NHS. This costs hundreds of thousands of pounds. We are hopeful that this won't be necessary for us but we need to be realistic and start preparing for this possibility.
Thank you for reading his story. Please donate if you can and please share this story. You can also follow his progress on his Facebook page.
This type of childhood cancer is rare and difficult to treat. Only 50-60% of children survive past 5 years from diagnosis. Treatment lasts approximately 16 months from being diagnosed. So far Reuben has responded well to his treatment. He is a strong and determined little boy and continues to surprise his doctors with how well he is coping. But he still has a long and gruelling journey ahead.
Since being diagnosed Reuben has endured 10 rounds of chemotherapy, which has made him very unwell at times and has caused his hair to fall out. This was followed by major surgery to remove the bulk of the tumour, after which he spent six solid weeks in hospital receiving intensive chemotherapy. Next he will undergo radiotherapy and immunotherapy.
We are aiming to raise funds to help us care for Reuben while he battles through treatment and beyond. So far we have managed to get by without asking for any financial assistance. We are reaching a point where our savings are runnng out.
Only one of us can work full time because caring for Reuben is a full time job with all of the hospital appointments and admissions that he needs. We live 35 miles from the hospital and the cost of fuel and parking each time can be very expensive, especially when we are visiting at least three times a week or are staying for a few weeks at a time. If Reuben gets a temperature at home, we have to take him into hospital immediately where he will stay for a minimum of 48 hours for a course of antibiotics. This means we have no choice but to sacrifice one of our jobs.
I'm sure many people will understand how hard it is raising a child with the cost of living today being so high. Imagine losing half of your family's income and incurring extra costs all because your child has a life threatening disease. We want to give him the same quality of life and opportunities that we could have given him, before cancer took that possibility away from him, and us.
We remain positive that Reuben will beat Neuroblastoma for good. He is the strongest and bravest little boy you could ever meet! Unfortunately this type of cancer has a high chance of coming back. About 60% of Neuroblastoma patients suffer a relapse either during or after treatment. If that happens we may need to seek alternative treatment that is not available through the NHS. This costs hundreds of thousands of pounds. We are hopeful that this won't be necessary for us but we need to be realistic and start preparing for this possibility.
Thank you for reading his story. Please donate if you can and please share this story. You can also follow his progress on his Facebook page.
Organizer
Wayne Clark
Organizer
