A Young Boy's Battle With Cancer
- Lee-Joshua Hodgson's parents noticed his symptoms, which included a cough and swelling in his groin area, in 2020. They brought him to doctors who first believed he was suffering from a viral infection and prescribed antibiotics.
- The boy’s family documented his fight on an Instagram account that grew to have over 19,000 followers. It was there that his nickname became well-known: he was his parents superhero.
- rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) belongs to the sarcoma family of cancers. Sarcomas develop in the body's connective tissues, such as muscles, fat, bones and blood vessels. Rhabdomyosarcoma, specifically, is "made up of cells that normally develop into skeletal (voluntary muscles). These are muscles that we control to move parts of our body,” according to the American Cancer Society.
Lee-Joshua Hodgson's parents noticed his symptoms, which included a cough and swelling in his groin area, in 2020. They brought him to doctors who first believed he was suffering from a viral infection and prescribed antibiotics.
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In an Instagram post, his parents described him as a "kind, caring, generous, happy and funny little boy," and "perfect" son who dreamed of growing up to be a garbage man.
Lee-Joshua passed away on June 26.
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What Is Rhabdomyosarcoma?
According to the American Cancer Society, rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) belongs to the sarcoma family of cancers. Sarcomas develop in the body's connective tissues, such as muscles, fat, bones and blood vessels. Rhabdomyosarcoma, specifically, is "made up of cells that normally develop into skeletal (voluntary muscles). These are muscles that we control to move parts of our body."
RMS typically develops in the head and neck, the urinary and reproductive organs, arms and legs and the chest and abdomen.
One Tough Cookie Resilient 8-Year-Old Who Overcame Ewing Sarcoma Sells More Than 32,000 Boxes of Girl Scout Cookies To Break Record
There are two types of RMS: alveolar (ARMS), which is what Hodgson had, and embryonal (ERMS). The former is known to grow faster than the latter and often requires more aggressive treatment. Unlike ERMS, which is most frequently found in children under the age of five, ARMS affects all age groups equally.
Rhabdomyosarcoma is exceedingly rare. With only around 500 cases diagnosed in the United States every year, it amounts to less than three per cent of childhood cancers. The prognosis can vary widely, depending on where in the body the cancer developed, whether it spread, the size of the tumor and how successful surgery proved to be.
A Victory Over RMS
One example of a best case scenario is tennis player Ryan Peniston, who recently made his Wimbledon singles debut.
He went through surgery and two rounds of chemotherapy over a period of 18 months before he was cleared of his disease, which his parents discovered when they found a lump on his thumb when he was just one-year-old.
How A Childhood Cancer Diagnosis Can Affect A Family
Jayne Wexler is a New York City-based photographer whose son Justice is a childhood cancer survivor. Justice was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia; he spent many of his younger years going through cancer treatment, but now, as a side effect of the chemotherapy he received, he's dealing with heart disease.
In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, Wexler says she's seen many couples struggle upon hearing the news of their child's diagnosis. In some cases, the couples even break under the intense pressure, she said.
The Impact of a Childhood Cancer Diagnosis on the Whole Family Jayne Wexler Shares Her Story
"When we were in the hospital we met a lot of couples, and a lot of people don't stay together because they can handle this," she tells SurvivorNet. "Fortunately, we (she and her husband) were strong and we stayed together."
But just because a couple gets through a cancer diagnosis and treatment doesn't mean the fear for your child's health and safety goes away. Wexler says that she and her husband will always remain fearful of Justice's health, but they work through it together.
"There's always some sort of worry," she said. "We have to live each day and be thankful for what we have, and it's hard to remember that when you're caught up, especially in New York City, with all the craziness. It's very hard just to sort of enjoy the moment."
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