| Racing to find a cure for childhood cancer |
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| Wednesday, 24 June 2009 | ||
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Managing editor Family and friends of Jack Serakos, a less-than-one-year-old Coon Rapids boy who is battling brain cancer, have formed Team Jack Attack to race against childhood cancer.
There will be a 10K run, a 5K run, a 5K Walk and 1K Kids’ Fun Run. Registration begins at 6:30 a.m. with the first event at 7:30 a.m. Indeed, Team Jack Attack has already exceeded its $5,000 fund-raising goal by bringing in some $5,500 with more donations expected, according to Breanna Serakos, Jack’s mother. “We have met our goal and would like to exceed it by more,” Breanna said. Jack was born to Breanna and Tony Serakos in July 2008, but at about three months old he started sleeping more and randomly vomiting. After several trips to the doctor, Jack’s parents were told that he had a virus, but knowing something “wasn’t right and trusting our gut feeling that had been lingering for a couple of weeks,” his parents took Jack to the emergency room at Children’s Hospital where he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, according to Jack’s story on his Caring Bridge Web site. “We were devastated to say the least and our world has been changed forever,” the Serakos’ state on the Web site. Jack has chiasmatic glioma which is generally slow growing, but inoperable, Breanna Serakos said in an e-mail to the Coon Rapids Herald. He has undergone three brain surgeries for a biopsy and shunts, MRIs, countless CT scans, a feeding tube placement and many more procedures that his parents have lost track of, she said. “Currently, Jack is doing fairly well,” Breanna said. Jack is in the second week of a two-week break from his current round of chemotherapy and “is enjoying the time off,” she said. “Each round of chemo is six weeks; he has four weekly infusions and then two weeks off,” Breanna wrote in the e-mail. The Serakos’ take Jack to the oncology clinic at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis and he spends about one afternoon a week there for his chemo infusion. After his chemotherapy protocol is completed in January 2010, Jack will have MRIs every three months to monitor any changes in his tumor. “We pray that the tumor remains stable for as long as possible,” Breanna said. “If it begins to grow, we will probably do another chemo protocol to protect his vision.” As far as brain tumors go, Jack’s prognosis is better than most, according to Breanna. “The tumor itself is low grade – slow growing, a good type to have if you have one,” Breanna said. “Unfortunately, it is in one of the worst locations and inoperable. We will continue to control the tumor with chemo until he is old enough for radiation; our main goal is to preserve his vision.” Jack’s treatment is outpatient so he is only at the hospital for three to four hours a week. He is at home the rest of the time with weekly visits from the physical therapist and occupational therapist to help him catch up, according to Breanna. “Jack is very social and likes to play with other kids, dogs, read books, play with his tow truck, swim in his pool and play with all of mom and dad’s electronics (cell phones, remotes, laptops),” Breanna said. “He has caught up immensely the past couple of months and is doing what little boys should be doing.” Both Breanna and Tony Serakos work full time and health insurance has covered Jack’s medical expenses except for deductibles and co-pays. But both parents have had to miss lots of work and that adds up, Breanna said. The Time to Fly Walk/Run benefits Children’s Cancer Research Fund® in its efforts to eradicate childhood cancer. Team Jack Attack will join thousands of people who will walk or run in support of childhood cancer survivors and current patients, as well as honor those kids who have lost their courageous battles with the disease, according to Kris Huson, marketing and communications manager, Children’s Cancer Research Fund, which is headquartered in Minneapolis. Huson provided these facts about childhood cancer: • Childhood cancer is the No. 1 disease killer of U.S. children – more than from asthma, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, congenital anomalies and pediatric AIDS combined. • Brain cancer is the No. 1 killer of children with cancer. • One in 300 children will be diagnosed with cancer before the age of 20. • Approximately 10,730 new cases of pediatric cancer were expected to be diagnosed in children 0-14 years of age in 2008. • Each year, 3,000 children die and 35,000-40,000 are in treatment. • Childhood cancer has a huge societal impact – 180,000 potential years of life are lost to it every year. According to Huson, childhood cancer is not funded to the degree that adult cancers are funded due to lower incidences, which makes private funding (like that from Team Jack Attack) critical. The National Cancer Institute’s budget is $4.6 billion. Of that, breast cancer received 12 percent, prostate cancer received 7 percent and all 12 major groups of pediatric cancers combined received less than 3 percent, Huson said. “And even to secure NCI funding, researchers need to show very promising preliminary data, which also takes significant resources to gather,” she said. “Some of the seed money for this preliminary data comes from private funding – from nonprofits such as Children’s Cancer Research Fund – which like all nonprofits in this economy has experienced a dip in donations.” According to the Team Jack Attack page on the www.childrenscancer.org Web site, the team is raising money to help other children, like Jack, win their battle with cancer and prevent some of the long term and devastating side effects from treatment. People in the community who want to support Team Jack Attack can do so by visiting the Time to Fly Web site at http://www.ccrftimetofly.com. Jack’s Caring Bridge Web site can be found at www.caringbridge.org/visit/jackserakos/mystory. Peter Bodley is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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