"I can remember the exact moment we learned of Javi's diagnosis. It was certainly a rough day. But no time was wasted and we immediately started receiving phone calls to schedule further tests, which started our journey at the Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU. Within days, Javi had a port inserted and started chemotherapy. It was a whirlwind, but we had no idea of the tornado that was about to hit us," shares his mom, Amy. ASK Kourageous Kid Javi is a typical five-year-old who loves to play baseball and soccer and runs around in his firefighter and police uniform. He loves books and is now learning to read in kindergarten. Today Javi is healthy, but less than two years ago, in early May 2019, he began having large clusters of swollen lymph nodes in his neck. His pediatrician knew something was wrong and conducted a series of blood tests, ultrasounds, X-rays, PET scans, and a biopsy of the most prominent cervical lymph node, Javi was diagnosed with Stage 3S, Epstein-Barr Virus Positive (EBV+) Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Javi's active treatment consisted of four 21-day cycles of chemotherapy, with the first three days of chemo administered inpatient. Initially scheduled for six full cycles, Javi and his family received the news that he was a "rapid responder," and his cancer had dramatically decreased after the first two chemo cycles. "It was the best possible scenario," continued Amy, "and after four cycles of chemo, his cancer was gone! The doctors determined that he could discontinue chemo, and now we do follow-up appointments at the Survivorship Clinic every three months. In October, we will celebrate Javi's two-year anniversary of being cancer-free!"
"Perhaps one of the most phenomenal things about ASK is that this organization continues to provide support, even after diagnosis and treatment," says Amy. "We are so grateful for all of the events and recognitions of birthdays and special events but to know that we will be part of this family for the rest of our lives is incredible! I can't tell you how much it means to us to know that we will never be forgotten."
Javi's infectious smile and boundless energy are impossible for us to forget! Thank you to our ASK community for helping to be there for this family and making life better for kids with cancer!
1 Comment
Amy Guzman
5/22/2021 11:01:39 pm
I love this blog post on Javi! Thank you for sharing his story. Unfortunately, childhood cancer is more common than we realize. In fact, my good friend’s (and neighbor) 7 year old daughter was just diagnosed last week with leukemia. There are so many children and families here in central Virginia affected by childhood cancer that benefit from the help offered through beneficial organizations like ASK. But ASK can only help us through the generous and heartfelt donations given by those like you in our community.
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