People would say to me ‘I don’t know how you do it. You’re so brave; I couldn’t do it.’ And I just wanted to scream, ‘I didn’t get a choice
- Prue, Chase's Mum
Chase was a very sociable and affectionate little boy, who would often go up to complete strangers to give them a hug. He gave no sign that something was awry with his health until just after he turned four. Then, life changed dramatically… not just for him, but for everyone in his family.
Pre-diagnosis
Chase was living a very active life on a small property in regional Queensland with his mum Prue, dad Jamie, and baby brother Jacob, when he developed a persistent fever. Prue took him to the GP, who thought it was ‘just the flu’. Chase then started complaining of pain when he sat down.
Prue took Chase to the paediatrician for tests and was waiting for the results when she noticed a small red dot on Chase’s hip − a symptom she now knows as petechiae. She rang a friend who is a GP, who suggested Prue take Chase to the local hospital to get checked.
Diagnosis
Chase was admitted to the local hospital where he had blood tests done. ‘The doctor said we’d probably be in for a week until they could figure out what’s going on,’ Prue recalls. ‘And all I can remember thinking is: we can’t do that, it’s Christmas next week.’
A few hours later, Chase’s blood test results came back abnormal, and he was transferred to a public hospital for further investigations. It was here that Prue and husband Jamie were told that their son most likely had leukaemia. But it wasn’t until Chase was transferred again, this time to Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane, that they were given a definitive diagnosis: acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).
In the back of my mind, I was already thinking: this isn’t the flu, it’s gone on too long.
- Prue, Chase's Mum
Treatment
Prue and Jamie were advised to expect six months of intensive treatment. All began well, with Chase going into remission after his first round of chemotherapy. But during his second round of chemo, genetic testing delivered sobering news. Chase’s cancer cells had a genetic mutation that placed him in the ‘high risk’ patient category, meaning that he would need a bone marrow transplant for a chance at cure. On top of that, he was found to have Fanconi anaemia − a genetic condition associated with a life expectancy of 20 to 30 years.
Prue says Chase was lucky to experience only minimal side effects during his cancer treatment. However, appetite loss made feeding him a huge challenge. ‘I feel like most of our time in that room was spent just getting him to continue eating. It was a constant battle.’
During this time, Christmas came and went. Despite it being baby Jacob’s first Christmas, the family wasn’t able to get any Santa photos, with Chase so ill and confined to his room. ‘It seems so trivial, but the top of my list of things that cancer stole from me is that I don’t have any Santa photos,’ Prue shares. ‘Christmas had always been a very special time for me. I actually lost that for quite a few years.’
There were some days where I’d walk out of the room and say, ‘I can’t do it.’ It would just overwhelm me sometimes, the constant battle.
- Prue, Chase's Mum
Today
Today, Chase is 8 years old and in Grade 3 at school. Prue describes him as ‘always on the go’, and ‘very resilient when it comes to anything medical’. This recently proved a blessing when he knocked his front tooth out in the skate park and needed treatment.
Looking to the future, Prue is mindful that Chase is at risk of further health challenges as a result of his cancer treatment, as well as the Fanconi anaemia. ‘There are a lot of things that could come up as Chase grows’ she explains. ‘But I think about advancements in medicine in my lifetime and I think: the answers are out there; we just need to be able to find them. We need to fund that research to find those answers, so we can have better outcomes for everyone.’
This December, it will be five years since Chase’s diagnosis. And while the anniversary will always be there, Prue says it doesn’t hold quite the same level of angst. ‘I’m getting that zest for Christmas back.’
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