On a Mission to Fight Childhood Cancer
- CNN national correspondent René Marsh had to say goodbye to her son, Blake, at just 2 years old after a battle with brain cancer. To ensure that his memory lives on, she wrote a children’s book designed to inspire other kids faced with adversity.
- Proceeds from the book sales goes to the Blake Vince Payne Star Fund a charity established by The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and Blake's parents that aims to help fund pediatric cancer research.
- Grief is an unavoidable and important part of healing following the loss of a loved one to cancer. But things like therapy can help. Dr. Marianna Strongin, a licensed psychologist tells SurvivorNet that, “If you approach (the stages of grief) with compassion, kindness and eventually acceptance, you will come away from this period in your life more connected to your resilience and strength.
The book, entitled The Miracle Workers: Boy vs. Beast, highlights “the power of hope and faith when facing some of life's toughest trials.”All proceeds from the book will go toward the Blake Vince Payne Star Fund a charity established by The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and Blake's parents that aims to help fund pediatric cancer research.
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Blake’s Cancer Journey
Blake was born on March 14, 2019, and Marsh still considers it to be “the best day of [her] life.”
“That was the day that I became a mom," Marsh tells Yahoo Life. “I got to meet this person who had been growing inside me for nine months, and he was a very happy, fun and smiley baby up until 9 months old.”
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Her concern for her baby’s wellbeing began after seeing that Blake could no longer control one of his eyes giving him a cross-eyed look. She took him to see an ophthalmologist who told her Blake would need an MRI if they didn’t start noticing any improvements. And after closely monitoring her son’s eye, Marsh became increasingly worried.
On Dec. 22, 2019, her worries were exacerbated after having to take him to the hospital for a puffy eye. It was at that trip that Marsh and her husband received the devastating news.
“I could read the body language of the doctor before they even said the words,” she said. “He said that, ‘Your son has a fast-moving aggressive tumor right in the center of his brain.'”
What followed was an intense treatment regimen that included surgery to remove the tumor and chemotherapy.
“We did cycle one [of chemotherapy] and at the end of cycle one, Blake had a toxic reaction to one of the chemotherapy drugs, and he went into cardiac arrest,” Marsh said. “That was directly correlated to one of the chemotherapy drugs.”
Then, on April 14, 2021, the brave little boy’s body could not take it anymore. He died at 25 months old. And since then, Marsh has been forced to navigate an unfathomable journey of grief. Still, she holds on to the memory of him as the happy, smiling baby he was and fundraises for research surrounding “this disease that stole Blake from me.”
"I want all this terrible pain that I’m feeling, for something positive to happen so that no other mother has to feel this. Because honestly, it is so bad that you would truly want to spare a stranger from it," Marsh said. “[Blake]’s the one reason why I feel like I have to keep on pushing on, because I feel like I have to keep fighting for my son, even though he’s not here.”
What Is Pineoblastoma?
According to the Mayo Clinic, pineoblastoma is a rare, aggressive type of cancer that begins in the cells of the brain’s pineal gland which is located in the center of your brain. This gland produces the hormone melatonin which is associated with controlling your natural sleep-wake cycle.
This disease can develop at any age, but it is more common in young children. Signs of pineoblastoma can include headaches, sleepiness and subtle changes in the way the eyes move.
Treatment for pineoblastoma can be very challenging and often involves surgery to remove as much of the cancer as possible, though other treatments in addition to surgery may also be recommended. The disease can spread within the brain and the fluid around the brain (cerebrospinal fluid), but it rarely spreads beyond the central nervous system.
Understanding Childhood Cancer
Treatment advances in recent decades have lead to 84 percent of children with cancer now surviving five years or more, according to the American Cancer Society. This is up from 58 percent from the mid-1970s.
But according to the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, more than 95 percent of childhood cancer survivors have significant health-related issues because of the current treatment options, and only 4 percent of the billions of dollars spent each year on cancer research and treatments are directed towards treating childhood cancer in the United States. Since 1980, fewer than 10 drugs have been developed for use in children with cancer while hundreds of drugs have been created exclusively for adults.
Dr. Elizabeth Raetz, director of pediatric hematology and oncology at NYU Langone's Perlmutter Cancer Center, reminded us in a previous interview that there is still reason for hope.
"There are also targeted treatments and different immunotherapies that have been studied in adults and have now moved into clinical trials for children and there has been a great deal of excitement in the community about that," Dr. Elizabeth Raetz told SurvivorNet.
Still, navigating a child's cancer diagnosis can be tricky.
Jayne Wexler's son battled acute lymphoblastic leukemia and now deals with heart disease as a side effect of chemotherapy. In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, Wexler explained that in addition to regular parent worries having a child with cancer means living with a whole new world of anxieties.
The Impact of a Childhood Cancer Diagnosis on the Whole Family Jayne Wexler Shares Her Story
"My husband and I will always have fear," she said. "I don't think we can ever let go of that. Just when he was OK, then he relapsed, and then he had the bone marrow transplant … so there's always some sort of worry."
Wexler admits she tries to live for each and every day, but its understandable that this does not always come easy.
"And I do try you hear people say this we do have to live each day and be thankful for what we have," Wexler said. "And it's hard to remember that when you're caught up … it's very hard to just sort of enjoy the moment, because we just don't know what's going to happen in the future."
Losing a Loved one to Cancer
Grief is an inevitable and essential part of the healing process after losing a loved one to cancer. And there's definitely no one way to cope, but Doug Wendt shared his thoughts on the grief in a previous interview with SurvivorNet after losing his wife Alice to ovarian cancer.
"We're never gonna move on, I don't even think I want to move on, but I do want to move forward," Wendt said. "That's an important distinction, and I encourage anybody who goes through this journey as a caregiver and then has to face loss, to think very carefully about how to move forward."
Everyone's journey of grief looks different, but therapy and support groups can also be wonderful options to explore. It's also important to keep in mind that time does not heal everything, but it certainly helps.
In an earlier interview with SurvivorNet, Camila Legaspi shared her own advice on grief after her mother died of breast cancer. For her, therapy made all the difference.
"Therapy Saved My Life": After Losing A Loved One, Don't Be Afraid To Ask For Help
"Therapy saved my life," Legaspi said. "I was dealing with some really intense anxiety and depression at that point. It just changed my life, because I was so drained by all the negativity that was going on. Going to a therapist helped me realize that there was still so much out there for me, that I still had my family, that I still had my siblings."
Legaspi also wanted to remind people that even though it can be an incredibly difficult experience to process, things will get better.
"When you lose someone, it's really, really, really hard," Legaspi said. "I'm so happy that I talked to my therapist. Keep your chin up, and it's going to be OK. No matter what happens, it's going to be OK."
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