CORNWALL, Ontario – The mother of a 14-month-old Cornwall-area baby got terrible news Thursday – the tumour growing inside her son’s head has doubled in size in just two weeks and doctors fear the worst.
Britney Truelove said in an interview the news, understandably, was devastating.
“There’s not much hope. But there’s still a little chance for him,” she said of little Alexander Lazore, who has been saddled with regular radiation and chemo treatments that began Thursday. “I was very, very mad this morning.”
The little Cornwall-area fellow, just 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.
Earlier this week he was once again rushed into an emergency surgery to insert a shunt into his head, to relieve mounting pressure.
In late April some 60 per cent of an orange-sized mass was removed from the back of his head – which now appears to have returned with ferocity.
“There’s nothing much else to do, they will stick with the radiation and chemo,” said Truelove. “It’s not the greatest news. They’re just hoping it works.”
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 in an earlier interview. “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 and Alexander are staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Ottawa, and have been admitted to CHEO for the duration of his treatment.
An online fundraiser is also taking place, to benefit the family. The site can be found here.
A Facebook event has also been created to help the family, which can be found here.
