CORNWALL, Ontario – Alexander Lazore is only 14 months old, but he’s already in for the fight of his life.
The little Cornwall fellow, just three weeks ago, was diagnosed with a stage four brain tumour.
Doctors at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario nearly lost him, on April 23, when the pressure in his tiny head became so intense that he stopped breathing.
They were able to revive him, and on the next day performed a surgery that saw 60 per cent of the orange-sized mass removed from the back of his head.
But he is far from out of the woods. His mother, Britney Truelove, said in an interview the balance of the tumour that had to be left inside her son can only be treated with radiation and chemo therapy.
So at barely more than year old, little Alexander will have to undergo daily radiation treatments for the next six weeks, in addition to regular chemotherapy.
“They usually don’t do chemo when they’re less than three years old,” said Truelove. “But this is his only chance.”
Doctors were forced to leave a large portion of the tumour because it is so close to his brain stem and spinal cord that his quality of life, and chances of survival, could have been compromised.
Truelove said last month she noticed that her son appeared to have a slight kink in his neck. He was otherwise developing just fine and was a normal, happy baby.
But doctors quickly discovered that he was a very sick little fellow.
The official diagnosis is anaplastic astrocytoma, a type of brain cancer that can be very aggressive.
Truelove is hoping for the best.
“It’s hard. We never saw this coming,” she said.
Truelove and Alexander are staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Ottawa, and have been admitted to CHEO for the duration of his treatment.
Word is already spreading through Cornwall. A fundraiser was held at The Loft Salon in Cornwall, where proceeds from Tuesday’s work were going to the family.
An online fundraiser is also taking place, to benefit the family. The site can be found here.
