17 Years Old at Diagnosis
Written by Audra Bachstein
In 2014, after drinking gallons of water every day and still experiencing months of weight loss, my 17-year-old son Kenny was diagnosed with diabetes insipidus, a disorder that causes an imbalance of water in the body.
After undergoing three biopsies, he was finally diagnosed with bifocal germinoma on his pineal and his pituitary glands. Bifocal germinoma is a germ cell tumor that occurs in the central nervous system. It is quite rare, accounting for less than 1% of all childhood cancers.
Kenny was treated at Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas. I am happy to say that after four rounds of chemotherapy and a month of proton therapy in Irving, Texas, Kenneth is cancer free as of June 2016.
Kenneth loves playing frisbee golf and getting outdoors. He also enjoys watching YouTube and playing video games.
Having a son with cancer has taught me not to take anything for granted, to be closer in my faith and to tell people you love them everyday and keep smiling because it could be gone in a instant.
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