Scientists said that mothers rely on cues to know what their child needs to provide better care for them. So when a mother from the UK noticed something different from her son, she immediately consulted the doctor, who said that her son had a rare fatal cancer.
From her experience, the mother is urging parents to trust their instincts because it could mean the life or death of their child. She is grateful that she took the initiative to send her son to the doctor after seeing the bizarre change in her son.
Baby Diagnosed With Rare Cancer
Jessica Neal, a 35-year-old product developer from Calverton, Nottingham, first became worried when she noticed her son's eye was misshapen while they were on vacation in Wales, Metro reported. It was inflamed and started to look protruding and has changed over the course of one week.
Lee, 38, had also noticed the change in his son's eyes and so decided to send him to the hospital when they got home. They were hoping that they were only overreacting, but the doctor broke the news to them that their son had a tumor.
To make it worse, it was an unknown type of sarcoma that is incredibly rare, and so is its location in their son's body. But the worst was finding the treatment as there is no known cure or treatment process for it.
Their son Ted underwent six rounds of chemotherapy to shrink the tumor and then had surgery to remove most of it last December 2021. He looked fine afterward but then was rushed back to drain the pressure. At that point, they were told that their son was cancer-free.
But then, his health suddenly deteriorated. Doctors found that cancer has spread to his brain down his spinal cord. He underwent chemotherapy again, but they were told there was nothing more they could do for their son. Ten days later, on April 9 this year, Ted succumbed to death aged 16 months.
Despite what happened, Jessica is thankful that she listened to her instincts to send her son to the hospital immediately to get tested. She said it gave them eight more months to be with their son.
Mesenchymal Chondrosarcoma: Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment
The cancerous tumor in Ted was in one of his sinuses, and it was so rare that it did not have an official name until January 2022. The cancer is called mesenchymal chondrosarcoma, an aggressive form of cancer that can metastasize to other parts of the body, especially on the lungs, liver, lymph nodes, and other bones.
According to the Rare Disease Database of the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), the exact cause of mesenchymal chondrosarcoma is unknown and investigators are conducting ongoing research to learn more about the factors that lead to the disease.
Mesenchymal chondrosarcoma is thought to arise from early, immature cartilage cells known as chondroblasts that develop into chondrocytes, the main cell that makes up cartilage.
Diagnosis of cancer may be difficult as some people seek attention because of pain and swelling. But diagnosis is based on a thorough clinical examination, detailed patient history, and various specialized tests that include an X-ray and a small tissue sample to be studied under biopsy.
For treatment, chemotherapy and surgery may be advised. Tumors could get wrapped around veins, arteries, and nerves, making them difficult to remove completely. That is why chemotherapy is advised to do first to shrink them enough for surgeons to remove them after.
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