Early Saturday morning on April 26, 2003, we woke up to Anthony screaming that his "tummy" hurt. Thinking that he had gas, we picked him up and brought him to the bathroom. When we got to the bathroom, he was screaming uncontrollably for about 10 minutes. We were ready to take him to the Emergency room, when Maria asked him to point to where it hurt. He pointed to his chest. She then felt the area and noticed a lump. After getting him back to sleep, we decided to take him to his regular doctor in the morning.

After breakfast, Tony took him to the pediatrician, where they felt the lump and suggested going to the local hospital for an X-Ray. Later that day, the pediatrician called and said their was some kind on mass attached to his rib. We then took him to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital for a CT scan. After 7 long hours in the ER, we were given the worst news any parent could ever hear: there was a tumor about 3 cm in diameter attached to his left 5th rib. The oncologists suspected that it was cancerous due to the fact that the rib had been partially eroded, but only a biopsy could determine if it really was malignant. We hoped with all our might that they were wrong.

Anthony was checked into the hospital and scheduled for a week of tests, including another CT scan, this time of his whole body, a bone scan, an MRI, a large bore needle biopsy of the tumor, a bone marrow aspirate, and a bone biopsy.

The result of all these tests was that the tumor appeared to be a Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor (PNET) localized on the 5th rib. There was a spot on the bone scan that showed increased uptake at the femoral head, but a detailed MRI and CT scan showed nothing in that location. The doctors attributed that anomaly to an earlier injury. The CT scan also showed something on the back of his left eye. When he was discharged from the hospital, we went to the Wills Eye Clinic in Philadelphia to have his left eye examined.

After an ultrasound examination and a (fairly painful) retinal exam, Dr. Jerry Shields determined that the spot on the CT scan was an artifact, and there was nothing there.

The next day, Anthony began his first cycle of chemotherapy as proscribed by the Children's Cancer Group (CCG) protocol number CCG-A7983. The protocol calls for 4 cycles of chemotherapy, primary tumor treatment (surgery and/or radiation), then 10 more cycles of chemotherapy. The whole process took approximately 44 weeks, which was pretty much on schedule for this protocol. There were hiccups along the way and you can read about them in the older reports section of this site.

According to the American Cancer Society, if the tumor can be surgically removed, the chance for long term survival is 80%. Anthony is now in his fourth year post-treatment and goes for CT scans and chest X-rays every 4 months. Our job now is to monitor him for signs of long-term effects of the chemotherapy.

Go to the updates page for current news about Anthony.