This page has been created to help support Mason and help Masons family support HIM through his cancer journey on his tough road
Bay of Plenty
Hi, my name is Mason. I am 15 months old and 5 months ago I was diagnosed with Bilateral Wilms Tumour. You have likely never heard of Wilms Tumour so I will tell you a bit about my disease. I have a rare form of kidney cancer. There are 5 types of Wilms Cancer - stage 1 to 5. I have stage 5. I have been pretty unlucky as only 5% of this type of cancer is stage 5 and turns up in both kidneys (hence the term bilateral). It was quite a shock for me and my family finding out I had cancer as I was otherwise 'healthy' before the day I was diagnosed. My journey started 5 months ago and I have come a long way since my first day in Starship Emergency. I started the day knowing I had some tumours feeling pretty scared about the 2 needles and the X-ray. The day ended with my first round of chemotherapy (I now call it chemo). I am 18 weeks into 33 weeks of chemo. While I have been really brave for my family the weekly chemo has been knocking me around a little. I guess for you adults it feels a bit like a constant bad hangover however the side effects will last a life time not a day. I have regular CT scans to see if the chemo is doing its job to shrink the tumours. I go to sleep for these scans as otherwise I wriggle too much and get too scared. On the 22nd September I had my left kidney removed as the tumour had taken over my kidney and was growing. It grew so big it weighed more than 3 packs of butter. While my family looked very worried and tired for that 2 weeks post my operation I did really well. I was pretty sore but I couldn't wait to give crawling a go as I had been too sore to crawl with my big tumour taking up too much room. I crawl everywhere now and I am super fast. After my left kidney was removed I found it easier to move around, sleep and breathe. I was put back on my chemo plan after the operation to try to blast the 3 tumours which are still on my right kidney. Chemo is a pretty nasty thing even though it has a really important job to do. Along with its job fighting the bad stuff it kills the good stuff in me which fights away other bugs so I have found myself for many many endless nights at the hospital with high temps which indicate I have caught an infection as my immunity is down. I have been really lucky to have my family with me every minute of every day. I have been feeling pretty good the last 3 weeks as have had a bit of time off chemo. I had another CT scan last week to see if the chemo has been doing its job on my 3 flatmates in my kidney. I was really hoping they would have shrunk or gone. Unfortunately my surgeon has described the shrinkage as 'subtle' which even to me doesn't sound flash so I am pleased he has a plan. One of my tumours is a really big pain as its placed itself on the most important parts of my kidney which do all the heavy lifting and work. Because it is on this part it can't be cut out which is becoming a big challenge for my specialists. We had an appointment with my specialists today and this is the plan.......they are trying to save as much of my remaining kidney as possible because dialysis at my age would be very tough. I also have to be cancer free for 2 years before they would entertain a new kidney for me so I am not that keen on 2 years dialysis either. So on Thursday I head back in for another very important surgery. My surgeon Phil is like a god to our family and we all trust he will take good care of me. The aim is to cut out the big tumour at the bottom of my kidney while remaining perfect kidney function. I only need 1/4 of that kidney to operate well so I am hoping he can whip it off and get it all. Phil is going to take samples of my other 2 tumours so we know what we are dealing with. He can't cut them out because they are in a silly place. This surgery is apparently a bit more serious than the last one as we need to ensure we look after my kidney function as its my last kidney. I feel happy that we have a plan and I'm going to give it my best shot to breeze through this next 2 weeks! After all I have some walking I want to start learning. Mum and Dad and my family have been amazing. Its been tough on them because I have to be close to a hospital because of my risk of a secondary infection. That means Dad has been living in Whangamata as he has a business to run, he has also been looking after my sister. He's doing a super job! I have been living in Mount Maunganui with my Mum and Nana Cols to be close to Tauranga hospital. While Mum and Dad are just getting on with it I can tell it's tough on them and at this stage we don't have an end in sight. Dad has had to turn down quite a lot of work as he's right there at Mums side and his family are his priority. While they never talk about it this has had an impact on day to day living. I have a beautiful sister called Hope who has had to spend a considerable time out of school this year while Mum and dad have been looking after me. luckily she's super smart but she misses her friends. I will keep you posted on my journey I will be focussed this week on heading into my big surgery Thursday. I know many of you have asked Mum and Dad and my extended family what you can do to help so I thought this would be a chance for you to support them. My local community has worked really hard to support me and my family and its very appreciated. It's hard for you to help day to day as I need my parents and family so hopefully this is something you can do for me to help my Mum and Dad care for me on this journey. BTW - they are doing an AMAZING job! xx Lots of Love Mase
Donations will be used for: day to day living costs due to living in 2 separate homes and loss of work due to hospital commitments
I am Mason's Aunty Kellie. It is a privilege not a right to be able to play such a pivotal part in supporting my amazing nephew and my family on this journey. This page is being created to support this awesome family support their strong wee warrior son through an unexplainable painful time. There are no promises of what the journey will bring and a little bit goes a long way to help them with the sacrifices they are making to look after Mase. Many of you have asked what you can do to help or have asked to contribute a donation to assist them during this time. We have created this page to keep you in the loop and to allow you an outlet to support them support Mason. All money raised will go towards helping them give Mason the best support he needs to kick this disease. Whether it be $5 or $5000 it will be appreciated and help their family dig deep for their little boy. Thank you so much. If you have any questions at all please direct them to me at keljordcha@yahoo.co.nz. xxx Kellie
Masons pending surgery 23 August 2017
Hi All,
Its been a wee while since we have updated this page and quite a lot has happened..........so last year we got the all clear 'cancer free' but unfortunately the cancer came back earlier this year and despite efforts with another round of chemo the tumour has decided not to go away........it is also on a very problematic area of the kidney so the surgeons can't remove it without damaging the kidney function......so we have a new plan. The plan is that Mason will undergo a rather massive surgery which will remove his remaining kidney. This will leave him with no kidneys to do the important job that kidneys do so he will need to go on dialysis. The surgery is very large for our wee man as not only will the surgery remove his remaining kidney it will also pipe him up for the two types of dialysis he will need over the next 2 years. We have been awaiting a surgery date which has been pushed out for a number of reasons but we are hoping it will go ahead Monday next week. The surgery comes with some pretty big risks for our wee man esp. given the pressure the chemo has placed on his heart over the last 12 months but he's a wee warrior and will knock it out of the park we are sure. Matt and Di will be required to move to starship for a minimum of 4 months where Hope will go to school at Ronald Mcdonald house. This is to ensure Mase can heal and respond to the dialysis but also for Matt and Di to learn the ins and outs of doing this themselves at home for 2 years before Mase is eligible to look at a transplant. He needs to be cancer free for 2 years before he will be considered for a kidney transplant. So a long road ahead for Matt, Di, Hope and most of all Mase. Moving to starship means Matt has limited opportunities to work given his business is in Whangamata. Your help for this beautiful family is appreciated at this really tough time! xxxx
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