For a period of time leading up to July 2018, no one knew it, but Cohen had a tumor the size of a lime behind his nose, branching into his jaw and around his brain stem. His symptoms were largely run of the mill – sniffles, tooth pain; but then one of his eyes turned inward, and his family sought further medical attention.
Cohen had been from doctor to doctor, including the dentist; he was on antibiotics and even had a tooth pulled. Now, with the onset of this new symptom, his mom, Amber, decided to give the eye doctor a try.
The eye doctor sent them straight to the local children’s hospital.
Scans and a biopsy showed Cohen had a type of soft tissue cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma. With this news, Cohen stopped being a kid who had a tumor that no one knew about; within a few weeks, chemotherapy would take his hair, and everyone would know at a glance that he had cancer.
Cohen’s tumor had likely been growing a long time, and it was inoperable due to its location. Right away, he was referred to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where he is undergoing treatment, including chemotherapy and proton therapy.
The lifesaving work of St. Jude is funded largely by donors whose generosity also ensures families never receive a bill from St. Jude for anything.
St. Jude staff have made big imprints on his time here. They have always gone above and beyond for him. And there is no service that a child needs that can't be covered here.
When you donate monthly, your gift means families, like Cohen's, never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food — because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.