"Team Cameron" Gooch
Donation protected
The Weekend Everything Changed:
One weekend in September of 2016, Cameron, a Buckalew second grader, was trying out for the fall baseball season at ORWALL. The next weekend he was in Texas Children’s Hospital on morphine for intense pain, with a scan that showed he may be in for a fight against cancer—a fight for his life.
It all started with leg pain. We chalked it up to his being an active, growing kid. Then he started losing his appetite, followed by tummy pain and vomiting. We very quickly realized that we were not dealing with anything typical when all of his symptoms intensified. Trips to the ER followed over a weekend we will never forget.
We suspected appendicitis, because Cameron’s pain was on the right side, and the vomiting and leg pain matched what we’d read online in our search for answers. The ER physician thought the same thing, so he sent Cameron for a CT scan before heading to what we thought would be an emergency appendectomy.
Then we heard the words that would change our lives. The CT showed our son had a mass in his body. A mass the doctors suspected was cancer. It was about the size of a baseball and was sitting in his abdominal cavity near his pelvis. We found out that the abdominal pain he was having was because the mass was pressing on his ureter, causing his kidneys to have trouble working. The doctors explained the pain like that of kidney stones. And the leg pain was nerve pain, similar to sciatic nerve pain, due to pressure on the nerves in the pelvic region. Here he was, only eight, experiencing some of the most intense types of pain experienced by adults!
A Brave Boy in a Medical World:
His first hospital stay, to confirm diagnosis, manage symptoms, and start treatment, was a long and often scary whirlwind of medical procedures and tests, of emotions and worries, and of firsts that we never wanted for our child—IVs, scans, surgery, a tube in his nose to drain intestinal fluids, multiple needle sticks, and learning to take pills. These horrible “firsts” affected Cameron, but also had an impact on his little sister, Audrey, who was then in kindergarten at Buckalew.
A biopsy confirmed Cameron had cancer. And pathology tests indicated the type of cancer was embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, a solid tissue cancer that begins in embryonal muscle cells, affecting about 350 children in the United States each year.
After a few months of chemotherapy, the mass had shrunk significantly, and much of it was removed surgically. After surgery, he continued chemotherapy and went through a month of proton radiation treatment to attack whatever may have been left of the tumor that we couldn’t see on the CT scan. Scans remained clear during treatment. He was able to attend school through the homebound program, stayed in touch with friends, and continued to play baseball when he could and cheer his team on from home or hospital when he could not.
Cameron celebrated finishing his chemo regimen in July 2017, right after he turned 9. He started back full time at Buckalew for third grade, hand in hand with Audrey who was beyond thrilled to have her brother back at school.
Celebration Turned to Sadness and a New Fight:
Then, in August, we went for what were to be celebratory end-of-treatment scans and found out that there were now masses in Cameron’s lungs. So, instead of having cancer behind him, Cameron went back to battle and started another round of chemotherapy. It was successful on some tumors, but not others, and we learned that the original pelvic mass had grown back. Instead of more chemo at this point, we enrolled in a trial studying the use of Cameron’s body’s own T-cells, removed, modified to fight cancer, and then infused back in his body. Cameron initially did well, had few side effects, and was able to enjoy all the things he loves.
The Biggest, Scariest Hurdle and Toughest Christmas:
Things changed quickly in mid-December 2017, though, and Cameron ended up staying at MD Anderson for over a month through the Christmas and New Year holidays. He was seriously ill due to rapid growth of the tumors, was unable to eat, required oxygen, had tubes surgically placed to drain his kidneys, and was in more pain than he’d ever been in. As a family and with the advice of our medical team, we decided to fight. We felt that Cameron was strong and that we needed to be aggressive against the cancer that was hurting him in so many ways. Cameron started his third chemo regimen in January 2018. It took a while, but he was able to bounce back after the chemo started shrinking the masses. He no longer needed any tubes or oxygen, was able to eat, and felt like himself, except that he had now lost the use of his right foot and needed a wheelchair or walking boot and crutches to get around. That was a huge loss for this little baseball player!
Our Warrior Facing a Very Aggressive Disease:
In July, we found out the cancer had spread to Cameron’s brain—not very common with this already uncommon cancer. He went through whole brain radiation and started a new chemo regimen including a medication designed to work on brain tumors. As has been typical for this brave, tough child, he continued to feel pretty good and enjoy himself throughout this fourth chemotherapy treatment, even with all of the related hospital stays, ICU admissions, and ER time. However, while these newest medicines plus radiation worked to stop growth of the brain tumors, they did not help Cameron’s lungs or abdomen. Therefore, we are now at a point where chemotherapy may no longer help but instead hurt our boy. After four very strong regimens, Cameron’s kidneys and bone marrow have been depleted. Instead of more chemo, Cameron is currently on a targeted therapy in pill form. That way he can still do something to try to shrink tumors but spend less time in the hospital.
Cameron Gooch, #17 on the Houston Astros:
The Houston Astros play a huge part in Cameron’s story and in his healing. He has always enjoyed Astros games, both in-person and on tv, and he watches intently, analyzing every play, every stat, every batting stance, every manager decision, and every umpire call. He was able to attend quite a few games throughout treatment. He also had the opportunity to meet some players during batting practice and through player visits to Texas Children’s Hospital and events sponsored by the Sunshine Kids. When Cameron was given the chance to decide on a wish for the Make-A-Wish program, he chose to become an Astro! So, last year, he signed his contract with the team, met with press and fans, was given his own jersey (#17) and locker, and joined the guys for pre-game activities in the clubhouse, dugout, and on the field. The entire organization has surrounded him with love and support, and he’s privileged to count players, players’ family members, and front office staff among his friends. His time with the Astros did not end after his Make-A-Wish day. He joined the team for many playoff and World Series games last year, was in the World Series parade, and held the World Series trophy. This year, for his tenth birthday celebration, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch, and he has been supporting the team throughout this season…and now post-season. So many smiles on Cameron’s face have been courtesy of the Houston Astros! Many have said that Cameron is the team’s biggest fan, but it’s even more than that—he IS an Astro. And he is incredibly proud to be.
Buckalew Family:
Just like we are all proud to be Buckalew Bears! This school is like family. It has been since the moment Cameron stepped foot on campus as a soon-to-be-kindergartener. And people in our school family have rallied around Cameron, Audrey, and all of us throughout this journey. Even those of you who don’t know us or who know us but don’t know about Cameron’s diagnosis make our days brighter with your smiles and kind words and normalcy in the midst of such a storm. We are so very grateful. It makes such difference to know we aren’t alone and that our children are loved. To be said, throughout Cameron's battle, we have had insurance, but I have since moved to part time status and Aaron, Cameron's Dad, is self-employed. That means now our insurance options are limited and expensive. We are so grateful for all the help this school and community is offering up as we look forward to 2019.
A Story Worth Telling:
Cameron is so intuitive, so strong, so sweet, so wise beyond his years…. We are honored that he is our son, and Audrey is proud to call him big brother. We don’t know what the future holds, but we know we will all be okay and that there will be smiles even if there are also tears. Sharing Cameron’s story, as hard as it is, means we are sharing a message of faith, hope, love, strength, and courage that allows all of you to get a little glimpse of the light that shines through our sweet boy. Always.
You can follow Cameron’s updates on Facebook: @cameronupdates
Here is a link to the story of his initial diagnosis and Make-A-Wish day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgr6aWW_csQ&authuser=0
One weekend in September of 2016, Cameron, a Buckalew second grader, was trying out for the fall baseball season at ORWALL. The next weekend he was in Texas Children’s Hospital on morphine for intense pain, with a scan that showed he may be in for a fight against cancer—a fight for his life.
It all started with leg pain. We chalked it up to his being an active, growing kid. Then he started losing his appetite, followed by tummy pain and vomiting. We very quickly realized that we were not dealing with anything typical when all of his symptoms intensified. Trips to the ER followed over a weekend we will never forget.
We suspected appendicitis, because Cameron’s pain was on the right side, and the vomiting and leg pain matched what we’d read online in our search for answers. The ER physician thought the same thing, so he sent Cameron for a CT scan before heading to what we thought would be an emergency appendectomy.
Then we heard the words that would change our lives. The CT showed our son had a mass in his body. A mass the doctors suspected was cancer. It was about the size of a baseball and was sitting in his abdominal cavity near his pelvis. We found out that the abdominal pain he was having was because the mass was pressing on his ureter, causing his kidneys to have trouble working. The doctors explained the pain like that of kidney stones. And the leg pain was nerve pain, similar to sciatic nerve pain, due to pressure on the nerves in the pelvic region. Here he was, only eight, experiencing some of the most intense types of pain experienced by adults!
A Brave Boy in a Medical World:
His first hospital stay, to confirm diagnosis, manage symptoms, and start treatment, was a long and often scary whirlwind of medical procedures and tests, of emotions and worries, and of firsts that we never wanted for our child—IVs, scans, surgery, a tube in his nose to drain intestinal fluids, multiple needle sticks, and learning to take pills. These horrible “firsts” affected Cameron, but also had an impact on his little sister, Audrey, who was then in kindergarten at Buckalew.
A biopsy confirmed Cameron had cancer. And pathology tests indicated the type of cancer was embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, a solid tissue cancer that begins in embryonal muscle cells, affecting about 350 children in the United States each year.
After a few months of chemotherapy, the mass had shrunk significantly, and much of it was removed surgically. After surgery, he continued chemotherapy and went through a month of proton radiation treatment to attack whatever may have been left of the tumor that we couldn’t see on the CT scan. Scans remained clear during treatment. He was able to attend school through the homebound program, stayed in touch with friends, and continued to play baseball when he could and cheer his team on from home or hospital when he could not.
Cameron celebrated finishing his chemo regimen in July 2017, right after he turned 9. He started back full time at Buckalew for third grade, hand in hand with Audrey who was beyond thrilled to have her brother back at school.
Celebration Turned to Sadness and a New Fight:
Then, in August, we went for what were to be celebratory end-of-treatment scans and found out that there were now masses in Cameron’s lungs. So, instead of having cancer behind him, Cameron went back to battle and started another round of chemotherapy. It was successful on some tumors, but not others, and we learned that the original pelvic mass had grown back. Instead of more chemo at this point, we enrolled in a trial studying the use of Cameron’s body’s own T-cells, removed, modified to fight cancer, and then infused back in his body. Cameron initially did well, had few side effects, and was able to enjoy all the things he loves.
The Biggest, Scariest Hurdle and Toughest Christmas:
Things changed quickly in mid-December 2017, though, and Cameron ended up staying at MD Anderson for over a month through the Christmas and New Year holidays. He was seriously ill due to rapid growth of the tumors, was unable to eat, required oxygen, had tubes surgically placed to drain his kidneys, and was in more pain than he’d ever been in. As a family and with the advice of our medical team, we decided to fight. We felt that Cameron was strong and that we needed to be aggressive against the cancer that was hurting him in so many ways. Cameron started his third chemo regimen in January 2018. It took a while, but he was able to bounce back after the chemo started shrinking the masses. He no longer needed any tubes or oxygen, was able to eat, and felt like himself, except that he had now lost the use of his right foot and needed a wheelchair or walking boot and crutches to get around. That was a huge loss for this little baseball player!
Our Warrior Facing a Very Aggressive Disease:
In July, we found out the cancer had spread to Cameron’s brain—not very common with this already uncommon cancer. He went through whole brain radiation and started a new chemo regimen including a medication designed to work on brain tumors. As has been typical for this brave, tough child, he continued to feel pretty good and enjoy himself throughout this fourth chemotherapy treatment, even with all of the related hospital stays, ICU admissions, and ER time. However, while these newest medicines plus radiation worked to stop growth of the brain tumors, they did not help Cameron’s lungs or abdomen. Therefore, we are now at a point where chemotherapy may no longer help but instead hurt our boy. After four very strong regimens, Cameron’s kidneys and bone marrow have been depleted. Instead of more chemo, Cameron is currently on a targeted therapy in pill form. That way he can still do something to try to shrink tumors but spend less time in the hospital.
Cameron Gooch, #17 on the Houston Astros:
The Houston Astros play a huge part in Cameron’s story and in his healing. He has always enjoyed Astros games, both in-person and on tv, and he watches intently, analyzing every play, every stat, every batting stance, every manager decision, and every umpire call. He was able to attend quite a few games throughout treatment. He also had the opportunity to meet some players during batting practice and through player visits to Texas Children’s Hospital and events sponsored by the Sunshine Kids. When Cameron was given the chance to decide on a wish for the Make-A-Wish program, he chose to become an Astro! So, last year, he signed his contract with the team, met with press and fans, was given his own jersey (#17) and locker, and joined the guys for pre-game activities in the clubhouse, dugout, and on the field. The entire organization has surrounded him with love and support, and he’s privileged to count players, players’ family members, and front office staff among his friends. His time with the Astros did not end after his Make-A-Wish day. He joined the team for many playoff and World Series games last year, was in the World Series parade, and held the World Series trophy. This year, for his tenth birthday celebration, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch, and he has been supporting the team throughout this season…and now post-season. So many smiles on Cameron’s face have been courtesy of the Houston Astros! Many have said that Cameron is the team’s biggest fan, but it’s even more than that—he IS an Astro. And he is incredibly proud to be.
Buckalew Family:
Just like we are all proud to be Buckalew Bears! This school is like family. It has been since the moment Cameron stepped foot on campus as a soon-to-be-kindergartener. And people in our school family have rallied around Cameron, Audrey, and all of us throughout this journey. Even those of you who don’t know us or who know us but don’t know about Cameron’s diagnosis make our days brighter with your smiles and kind words and normalcy in the midst of such a storm. We are so very grateful. It makes such difference to know we aren’t alone and that our children are loved. To be said, throughout Cameron's battle, we have had insurance, but I have since moved to part time status and Aaron, Cameron's Dad, is self-employed. That means now our insurance options are limited and expensive. We are so grateful for all the help this school and community is offering up as we look forward to 2019.
A Story Worth Telling:
Cameron is so intuitive, so strong, so sweet, so wise beyond his years…. We are honored that he is our son, and Audrey is proud to call him big brother. We don’t know what the future holds, but we know we will all be okay and that there will be smiles even if there are also tears. Sharing Cameron’s story, as hard as it is, means we are sharing a message of faith, hope, love, strength, and courage that allows all of you to get a little glimpse of the light that shines through our sweet boy. Always.
You can follow Cameron’s updates on Facebook: @cameronupdates
Here is a link to the story of his initial diagnosis and Make-A-Wish day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgr6aWW_csQ&authuser=0
Organizer and beneficiary
Amy Boenker Kvapil
Organizer
Spring, TX
Emmie Gooch
Beneficiary
