For most families, childhood cancer is unfathomable. But for families like Luke Getchell’s, childhood cancer is their heartbreaking, stomach-turning reality. In July of 2018, 13-year-old Luke was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with a common genetic alteration, FLT3-ITD. That diagnosis was devastating because it meant Luke’s disease had a poor prognosis.
Luke was a kind, easygoing, and empathetic kid. He loved Legos and many of his Lego models are now part of the ‘Luke’s Lego-cy’ display at the Children’s Wonder Tower at VCU Health in Richmond, VA. He also loved penguins and food. Luke was quite the culinary connoisseur and hosted “Chopped” competitions in his family’s kitchen.
After his diagnosis, Luke and his family spent over a year in and out of the hospital. He endured rigorous chemotherapy and seemingly endless secondary health issues directly caused by the toxicity of his medications, including a colon infection, sepsis, and heart damage. Despite all this, a little over 6 months after treatment began, Luke and his family were told that tests showed no signs of leukemia. That news brought relief and hope.
But that hope was short-lived. They were allowed one week of happiness – just one week – before Luke’s counts started to rise again. He was brought back to the hospital for more testing and his team discovered the cancer had quickly spread. It was then that doctors delivered news that his prognosis was very grim.
The side effects of Luke’s treatment had already been so harsh, it was hard to imagine things getting worse. But following his relapse, Luke’s young body experienced a harrowing mix of bleeding, skin issues, ingrown nails, thrush, graft-versus-host disease and diabetes caused by prednisone. By September of 2019, just 14 months after his diagnosis, his oncologist recommended hospice care – a decision that devastated his family. From there, Luke declined rapidly. He quickly lost his ability to walk and see and, on October 20, 2019 at just 14 years old, his heart stopped.
Childhood cancer is watching your teen bleed from their eyes because of toxic chemotherapy. Childhood cancer is helping your child swallow the same pill for a second or third time; on the outside you’re calm for your child, but on the inside you’re frantically thinking this pill could be the last chance, the only hope of your child’s survival, life or death.
This Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, please help us raise $25,000 to fund lifesaving research like that of Dr. Elvin Wagenblast at Mount Sinai. Dr. Wagenblast’s team is working to understand the earliest steps – the “how” and “why” – of childhood leukemia in order to uncover innovative and less toxic ways to treat it.
We believe every child with cancer deserves a safe and effective treatment option and no family should ever have to endure the horrors that Luke’s family did. Join us in offering hope and fueling research by making a gift in Luke’s memory today.
