Sean
had no symptoms...no vomiting,
no sleepiness, no
crying...nothing. The
only reason the McCauley
family got a
diagnosis is because
they had just moved
to a new area and
had a new pediatrician.
On November 29, 2000, at the age of
10 ½ months, Sean Ian McCauley was diagnosed
with a very large
and very malignant brain
tumor that would eventually
be diagnosed
as an Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid
Tumor.
This tumor carries
only a 2% survival rate
With nine surgeries and months and months of hospital stays, the family had to contend with many tortured days and sleepless nights with Sean at the hospital.
Danielle
and John made a promise that they would try and make the throes
of treatment more comfortable for other families
Over the months, Danielle and John McCauley were faced with many difficult decisions for their son. Seans' tumor is extremely rare and unfortunately does not carry a standardized treatment plan. How do you make a treatment decision when your experts don't have the answers? You do research of your own and get educated.
Danielle
and John made a promise that they would try and make it easier
for families to educate themselves.
Research helped the family come up with a plan for treatment. They sold their house and temporarily moved to Boston, Massachusetts for radiation treatment. While there, they met with a physician who was working on critical research for their son's cancer. Nothing could be more encouraging than meeting a man that could offer hope where none currently existed.
Unfortunately, during that meeting, the family learned of lack of funding available for his ongoing work. Scientists working on such rare cancers struggle to keep their work operational, due to lack of funding.
Danielle
and John made a promise that they would try and help fund scientists
work on pediatric cancers.
Sean will celebrate his five year anniversary
from diagnosis on November 29, 2005– and is a survivor.
To read more about the personal journey that Sean and his family have
been going through,
click
here to connect to the Sean McCauley family website and journal.
