JTSF Rockstar | Trent Golden (July)

Trent lives in York, Pennsylvania with his loving parents Tammy and Mark and his little brother Mickael. Tammy was pregnant with Mickael during Trent’s treatments and for that, she wins a special awesome Cancer Mom award! With one child upstairs on the pediatric Hem/Onc wing, Tammy headed downstairs to maternity to give birth to the newest member of the Golden Family! They are all happy, healthy and celebrating 7 years since Trent’s last chemotherapy treatment this month! - JTSF 

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Written by Tammy Golden, Trent’s Mom

My son, Trent, is a kind and loving 14-year-old.  He loves his family, friends and the life he lives.  Even though he has been pricked by needles since the age of 4, he still hates them. There’s no need for us to worry about him getting any piercings or tattoos.

He started swimming while being treated for acute lymphocytic leukemia and has continued love this sport. He will be joining the high school swim team in the fall of 2013. Trent will be celebrating seven years since his last treatment for his cancer in July 2013 (this month). He was deemed cured of his Leukemia in May of 2011.

Trent loves vacationing in Florida – mostly St. Augustine and Disney. But who wouldn’t? He loves all things Penn State and his involvement in The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON). 

At age 4, Trent became very sick while we were on vacation in Florida. He was admitted to the hospital while we were there and we were told he had Scarlet Fever.  From March of 2003 until May 22, 2003, Trent was constantly battling fevers.  Finally, on May 18th, Trent - again - had a fever that included terrible leg pain.  After x-rays and blood work, our pediatrician sent us to the Penn State Hershey Medical Center.  After one more blood drawl, Trent was diagnosed with ALL.

Acute Lymphocytic (or lymphoblastic) Leukemia is a cancer of the white blood cells where malignant white blood cells are continuously over-reproduced by the bone marrow. These cancerous white blood cells then infiltrate other organs and organ systems causing damage and death to normal cells.

Trent was immediately admitted to the Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital to start treatment. During his three years of treatment he had bone marrow aspirations, x-rays, blood drawls, spinal taps, platelet transfusions, blood transfusions, echocardiograms, MRI’s, chemotherapy and IVIG therapy.

Because Trent was diagnosed at age four, he very rarely complained and always kept a smile on his face, even at the worst of times.  Sometimes he fought us, his nurses and his doctors, but I think it was because he wanted to remain brave. He also wanted everyone to know he was going to have some say about what was being done to him. 

It was very rare to see Trent without a smile on his face.  I think, even at the age of four, he knew part of winning the battle would need to include a positive attitude.  Yes, Trent had cancer, but cancer never had him.  He is the reason we survived as a family.

Trent was a participant in a clinical trial, and we know that informational gathered from his trial during his treatment has been used to improve treatment plans for children now and in the future.  We always stand behind the research and hope that because of the information collected from his treatment, Trent will continue to live his regular, normal life not even realizing everyday, he plays a part in curing other children diagnosed with ALL.

Trent's laid back attitude not only helped him during his treatment, but has also helped us, (as a family) deal with the daily worry and concerns we had during his treatment.  He doesn't see it in himself, but as a mother, I sit back and watch him and know that for the rest of his life he will be doing things that are going to change people for the better.  

As Trent develops into a young man, I know he will spend his life helping others.  As a mom, that feels pretty darn good!

JTSF Rockstar | Colby Hoch (June)

Written by Judy Hoch, Colby’s mom

Colby was a lot of fun. He loved to go fishing, camping and to the beach. He was fascinated with golf. In fact, he would pass time by watching golf on TV. He thought the golf hats the players would wear sometimes were pretty cool. Whenever we played miniature golf, he would never wait for us. Instead, he would just go on to the next holes because he didn't want to wait for us and because he liked playing so much!

Colby had such a beautiful smile and a wonderful personality. He would break out into a little dance with his feet when he was happy.  He liked to turn up the music real loud and dance in the kitchen if a good song came on. He really loved The Power Rangers, Spiderman, Batman, and Thomas the Train. He enjoyed arts and crafts, and cooking with mom and Katie. He also liked to play in the snow.

My son was diagnosed with Stage IV Neuroblastoma.

Initially, we thought Colby had a virus because he had a fever at night and it would go down during the day. On the 2nd night he came into bed with us and we heard him make a noise when he was breathing. A chest x-ray was read and they told us it was pneumonia. Days into the antibiotic they had given him, he wasn't getting better, but instead he was getting worse.

Another x-ray showed it was not pneumonia. Colby was admitted to Lehigh Valley Hospital and they discovered a tumor on his adrenal gland. They told us we could not be treated there. We had the choice to go to either CHOP or Hershey – we chose Hershey.

Colby received six months of chemotherapy at Hershey. We were home only 21 days total during that time. Between his 3^rd and 4^th treatment we flew to LA Children's Hospital to have his bone marrow harvested.

After the first six months at Hershey, we went to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to have his bone marrow transplant. That lasted six weeks. Thankfully for many families, Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital now has the facilities and technology to do these transplants without sending patients to other hospitals. But when we were treated, that was not the case.

Within the next three months we had several admissions to CHOP when he became sick. After that, we returned to Hershey and the MIGB scans still showed tumor cells at his original tumor site. That was removed, and we did three months of Retin A treatments.

Colby did not eat for nine months after his transplant. He was hooked up to Hal & Lipids at night. It was a two-year journey of treating his cancer. Then he finally had six months where he was just a kid! He was going to preschool and living a fun kid life before he relapsed. Colby passed away less than a week and a half after his relapse. 

According to Colby: 

• No matter what you go through, don’t complain because there are people going through worse things than you. 
• Courage is being brave enough to do what you have to do even though you are scared to do it.
• When you are put in a bad situation, there will always be people there who help you through it and they will become lifelong friends and family to you for having been there for you.
• Always be helpful to others and treat them how you would want to be treated. 
• When you greet someone with a smile it will make a difference. 
• If you are stuck in the hospital for six weeks in a bone marrow transplant, a Power Ranger Sword hidden under your pillow sure does even the playing field when doctors and nurses keep coming in poking you! 
• Always look for the positive when you’re having a hard time finding it. It’s there – you just haven’t looked in the right place yet. It’s waiting for you to find it sometimes. 
• If you are thrown into a bad situation, do as Colby told us… make new friends! 
• When you pay attention to what is going on around you, the answers are usually right there. And when you realize that what you see going on around you could one day happen to you, try to be brave. If you are brave, you’ll help your mom and dad to be brave too.
• Don’t be afraid to ask questions, because that is how you learn. 
• Know the difference between your soul and the sole of your shoe. This is very important because your soul is what goes to heaven when your sole stays behind with your shoes (important Colby lesson learned!). Be sure you know what your soul is, and know the souls of those around you, so that one day you can all find each other. 

And when you know all that, it isn’t so hard to have courage to let yourself go on to the next journey in life.

I know when it's my time to cross over, Colby will be there waiting for me and it will be like we didn't miss a day apart. I will know his soul and he will know mine. We had a long talk about what your soul is and how it is everything that makes you "you", and how it would be easy to find each other knowing each other's souls like we do.

I hope that one day we find a cure for pediatric cancer. And we'll just do what we have to do to support those who are trying to find a cure. For the Kids! We are thankful for the blessings that came along the way during Colby's journey. 

- Judy Hoch (Colby’s Mom) 

And Judy we are thankful for you, Colby and your entire family! You’re an inspirational woman and Colby’s love and life continues to motivate and teach us new things. Thank you, love you! 

JTSF Rockstar | Bryan Weinsheimer (May)

We absolutely love all of our Rockstar’s and are blessed to have the opportunity to share their stories with all of you. This Rockstar has a special place in our hearts. His family means a lot to us and we are so proud of everything he accomplishes. 

Bryan Weinsheimer loves school and is a social butterfly. He likes to play soccer and enjoys riding his bike! He also loves the Penn State Dance Marathon (THON) and anything related to Penn State! We were lucky to meet Bryan through THON a few years ago.

Bryan’s parents, Tiffany and Jack, live with their two boys, Bryan and Braydan, in Lancaster. Braydan is in 2^nd grade and loves dancing and soccer. He is an awesome little brother! 

During the summer of 2007 (Bryan was 6 years old at the time) the Weinsheimer’s went on vacation to the beach.  Bryan complained he didn’t feel well and didn’t want to do anything during the entire trip. When they returned home, he was still sick so they took him to their family doctor. He was diagnosed with a stomach bug and sent home with medication.   

After a few days of him not feeling any better, Bryan was taken back to the doctor but sent home with another diagnosis of migraines. A few days later he still was not feeling well so once again his parents took him back to the doctor.  This time the doctor looked into his eyes and thought that she was able to see some brain swelling.  He was then admitted to the local hospital for an MRI.

The night of the MRI at about 11:30 p.m., two doctors and a nurse came into the room and told the family that the results were in.  Bryan was diagnosed with a tumor in the middle of his brain that was the size of a golf ball.

Bryan was taken to the Penn State Hershey Medical Center that night via ambulance at 1:30 a.m.  When Bryan was in the ambulance, he asked the drivers where we were going.  They told him he was going to Hershey.  He said, “Wow! We are going to Hershey Park this late at night?”

Bryan was monitored all night and in the morning he was seen by the neurosurgeon.  He sent him for another MRI; this one was two hours long. Finally, after a biopsy it was confirmed that he had some cancerous cells in the tumor.

Two weeks later, Bryan was scheduled for brain surgery to remove the tumor.  This surgery was 10 hours long but because of the location of the tumor they were only able to remove 90%. He was in the PICU for two days following the surgery and three days later, Bryan came home. He was unable to walk and needed to be carried up the steps. He needed to go to therapy twice a day, three times a week. 

After receiving chemotherapy for three months, then another surgery to make sure that the entire tumor was gone, Bryan had six weeks of radiation therapy. Each day before school we would drive about 45 minutes one way for 16 minutes of radiation, then drive home so Bryan could attend kindergarten.

One of the last major steps in this process was the Gamma Knife surgery. Bryan had the Gamma Knife surgery, which is a high dose of radiation to blast the remainder of the tumor away.  This surgery was almost $250,000.

With all of the treatment and tests that Bryan had to and has to continue to go through, he remains positive.  He is a great big brother and always is willing to help someone out when they need it.

He remembers to keep his humor about a lot of the horrible things that he is going through. On April 8, 2013, Bryan celebrated a monumental five years cancer free! We are so very proud of him and can’t wait to see what is next for him! 

In the future, Bryan has plans to attend Penn State University and hopefully dance in THON to celebrate and honor other children fighting like he did.

On May 29^th, Bryan will celebrate his 12^th birthday! Happy Birthday Bryan! We love you! 

JTSF Rockstar | Noah Mummert (April)

Noah is a pretty happy-go-lucky kid with lots of energy! He enjoys swimming, painting and playing video games. He also loves to cook and spend time with his brother, Ben, who is 16.

Besides a little acid reflux, Noah had been fairly healthy until shortly after potty training began. He was always constipated and complained of tummy pain! This continued after many doctor’s visits and a lot of MiraLAX.

One morning he woke up with a 102-degree fever and complaining of side pain. Noah was also and throwing up yellow bile. His pediatrician sent us to the emergency room where we waited many hours before they agreed to do a CT scan. Shortly after that we were rushed by ambulance to Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital where we told he had a mass on his left kidney that they suspected was a Wilms’ tumor. A biopsy the next day confirmed that the mass was a stage ruptured Wilms tumor.

Wilms’ tumor is a cancer of the kidneys that occurs most commonly in young children. The prognosis for Wilms' tumor is generally very good with the 5-year survival rate for patients around 90%. However, this prognosis depends highly on diagnosis, staging and treatment. 

Noah’s treatment started about one week after his diagnosis. It started a blood transfusion and then transitioned 6 weeks of chemotherapy to shrink the tumor before surgery. He then had the tumor and his one kidney removed. This surgery was followed by one week of radiation and 5 more months of chemotherapy.

Noah was such a trooper through all of his treatment! Considering everything he has gone through at such a young age, he has been such a good kid and he is always positive and upbeat.

As of May 2013, Noah will be two years cancer free and coming up on April 28^th, it has been two years since Noah’s last chemo treatment!

“My dream is that we can move past this part of our life as much as we can and use what we have learned to help fight for the rest of the kids going through or who will go through these nasty diseases!” – Noah’s mom Kathy