Jameson was born with a sacral dimple and hair tusk which led to the spinal cord, called a teratoma tumor. Jameson at 3 months old was initially sent to CHOP. There he not only had the teratoma removed but also had part of his tail bone shaved down. We continued to follow his care with periodic visits at CHOP. In October of 2022, his last set of labs showed increased numbers in his AFP, a tumor marker. We scheduled an MRI to see what was going on. Due to complications, we had to reschedule the MRI for January of 2023. Thankfully there were no complications during this time, and we were able to see that he had a regrowth of his teratoma. We then scheduled another removal in February, during the removal, they noted another growth from a different location. They then had this new growth biopsied which came back malignant. It is at the sacrum ( 2cm x 1.5cm ), noted as a Stage 3 Yolk Sac Tumor. As parents we took the time to digest this life-changing news and decided it would be best for our family to continue Jameson’s care with the cancer center at Reilly’s Children’s Hospital Lehigh Valley Health Network.

March 15th, Jameson began his journey with Lehigh Valley by having his port placed and began his first out of four chemo cycles. The cycles were twenty-one days, with the first five days being his chemo treatments. The first round of chemo was hard on Jameson since he started out as inpatient not being able to sleep in his own bed or have the freedom of running around his home.  As he began his second round, we were blessed to be able to have them all as outpatient! Jameson was always happy to see the clinic staff…Sue’s smiling face every morning, along with Nick who made intake every day such a great experience. Jameson was gifted a stuffed duck by Dr. Jake, and Nick would help him feel more comfortable by allowed him to put “Ducky” on the scale and have all its vitals checked! Jameson absolutely loved and enjoyed his doctors…Jake Troutman and Dan Zinn. He also created a wonderful bond with all the nurses and Leslie the child life specialist. They not only made things less stressful for us but they made his experience more relaxing. The team has truly made an impact on his young life! Jameson finished up his last round of chemo at the end of May with very few side effects, which we were truly thankful for. Jameson was given the all-clear on July 20th and rang  the bell on August 11th! We can’t thank the entire Lehigh Valley team enough for all of the love and support they have given to our family. 

Written by Jameson’s mom, Carissa

Please consider helping children with cancer and others in our community by scheduling a blood donation at Miller-Keystone Blood Center: https://donor.giveapint.org/donor/schedules/zip