Our Heroes:

Sean Mahoney

Sean (at 2 years-old) was diagnosed with a soft tissue cancer called Rhabdomyosarcoma in his left leg on December 11, 2000.  Our family was devastated.  Ten days after his diagnosis, Sean began aggressive treatment for this rare form of childhood cancer at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.  After four rounds of chemotherapy in the hospital, we were told that it was necessary to amputate his leg at the hip.  Sean recovered well after surgery and continued his aggressive treatment for eight more rounds of chemotherapy in the hospital.  Sean amazed us with his adaptability and courage.  He showed no evidence of disease for 18 months and we celebrated every moment with our brave little boy.  On March 20, 2003, we received heartbreaking news that Sean developed a secondary cancer -- a form of Leukemia.  The only option for a possible cure would be a bone marrow transplant.  Our nightmare began again.  Sean received a Bone Marrow Transplant on June 12, 2003.  His special brother, Patrick, was the donor.

Today, Sean is a healthy and happy 9 year-old!  He is a very active boy who loves playing soccer, sled hockey, riding his bike, and playing with his brother and friends.  He enjoys being a 3rd grader, and the best part of his school day is recess!  We continue to pray that Sean will have a long, healthy and happy life!

Written by: Joanne Mahoney

Cole Patrick Fitzgerald

Cole Patrick Fitzgerald was diagnosed on January 29, 2007 with Stage IV Neuroblastoma(non-amplified MYCN).Even before Cole was born on 3/28/04, he has been faced with incredible challenges.  Cole was a 30 week preemie twin born with lungs that were too small and bilateral dislocated hips from having no amniotic fluid in his sac for 7 weeks of our pregnancy.  He was trached and on a ventilator for 2 years until April 2006 and continued to astound everyone with meeting all of his developmental milestones.  Things took a tragic turn for Cole when he ran a sporadic low grade fever for 20 days from the day after Christmas 2006.  He was taken to 2 pediatricians who thought it was pneumonia and then viral, until the 3rd pediatrician ran blood work and detected a touch of anemia. We elected to admit him to A.I. duPont for a complete workup and after 4 days of observation, he had an abdominal ultrasound which discovered an 8cm neuroblastoma tumor and the whirlwind of treatment to save his life began.

The primary tumor was below the adrenal gland above his left kidney. The cancer spread to his bone marrow and he began treatment at the end of January 2007.  Between January and October 2007, Cole received 6 chemo treatments, a successful removal of a very petrified tumor, a successful stem cell transplant and 12 session of localized radiation to the former tumor site.  Cole underwent his treatment and countless tests always with a smile and an acceptance of all of the new people that were helping to save his life.  He is an absolute joy to all who know him.  Cole is in complete remission and will be taking Accutane for the next 6 months.  Our son is the toughest kid on the planet, overcoming every obstacle that has been put in front of him.   Cole is the light of our lives as is his twin sister Maeve and his 5-year-old sister Maggie.   He proves to everyone every day that miracles do happen and that he’s not going to let cancer stand in his way.  

Cole will always be our hero!

Written by: Keren Fitzgerald

Follow Cole’s treatment by visiting www.caringbridge.org/visit/colefitzgerald

Elizabeth Lee

Elizabeth Lee was born on April 21st 2004.  Everything about her childhood was typical, except for her magical way of charming people.  But everything changed on December 23rd, when an on-call doctor, Dr. Regina Clarke, decided that she felt Elizabeth’s spleen during a routine abdominal screen when we brought Elizabeth in to have a cough diagnosed.  After the tests were run it was determined that Elizabeth had neuroblastoma.  Elizabeth was diagnosed with stage 2 neuroblastoma, but with the amplified n-myc oncogene.  Elizabeth has undergone 2 surgeries to remove tumors, three surgeries to install catheters, 6 rounds of induction chemotherapy and a consolidation round with bone marrow stem-cell transplant.  She will also receive radiation and accutane.  Once this standard treatment is complete Elizabeth will be randomized into a clinical trial to test monoclonal antibodies.  To follow Elizabeth’s journey please log onto elizabethlee.wordpress.com.

Andrew Sprague

Andrew on right with his little sister Christine (Left) and friend Marissa (also cancer survivor)

Andrew has always been a playful, curious, and outgoing boy. At the age
of nearly 3, he was diagnosed with t-cell ALL, with high risk features.
His treatment was aggressive, consisting of 15 months of intensive
therapy (13 chemos and cranial radiation) and he had 25 months of daily
chemo for maintenance. Despite the constant nausea, fatigue, bone and
nerve pain, cancer could not steal the joy that God placed in Andrew.

Andrew (right) with friend Sam (cancer survivor)

Today, Andrew is approaching his "one year off treatment" milestone, and is planning his 7th birthday. He is in first grade, doing well in school, and competes on a swim team. You would never know that this little boy has endured so much, as he continues to laugh and explore, even through the chronic nerve pain that is a result of his treatment. We thank God that we are one of the fortunate families that saw our child healed on earth, and pray that through continued research we can find better ways to prevent and treat childhood cancers. Thank you Alex for inspiring us to help all the children with cancer!

Written by: Kim Sprague

Madison Lewis

“If it weren’t for organizations like Alex’s Lemonade Stand, I would not be here today.”

That is what 11 year old Madison Lewis is often heard to say.  When Madison was 4 years old she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, the same disease that robbed Alex Scott of her life.  When other children where going to pre school, on vacation, or summer camps, Madison spent most of her young life battling cancer.  Today, six years later, Madison remains NED (no evidence of disease)  When Madison was first diagnosed she was given a less than 50% chance of survival.  Madison was treated at Floating Hospital for Children in Boston, where she was put on a special protocol to treat her cancer.  After almost a year spent in the hospital, Madison went home.  When she heard about Alex and her lemonade stand, she knew she had to help!  Madison has been conducting lemonade stands out in front of her house in Amesbury Mass for the last four years with remarkable results!  “I love when people come and share their cancer stories with me, there are a lot of good stories out there.”  Madison knows the bad stories too, as a young child she has attended way to many funerals for her cancer buddies who have become angels. “People have got to realize that us kids need their help, there is so little funding for childhood cancer, it is not fun being sick!”  Madison is a 6th grader in Massachusetts.  She is already underway with plans for her 2008 Lemonade Stand.

Bobby Croyle

On December 15, 2003, Bobby had his 6-month well-baby check-up. We thought he was a happy, healthy little baby, but we left the pediatrician’s office in complete shock after learning that Bobby might have cancer. We were sent immediately to a local hospital for an ultrasound. It was confirmed that Bobby did have cancer. That afternoon we brought Bobby to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). After several tests, Bobby was diagnosed with Stage III neuroblastoma; a tumor in his abdomen.

Bobby received his first round of chemotherapy at CHOP. He received three more rounds of chemotherapy at a CHOP clinic at Lehigh Valley Hospital Muhlenburg Campus. Throughout his treatments, Bobby remained in good spirits, still smiling and playing. Although he did have some side effects of chemo: hair loss, bruising, tiredness, he stayed relatively “healthy” during his treatments. In March of 2004, Bobby’s surgeon felt the chemotherapy had shrunk the tumor enough for him to remove it. On March 24, 2004 Bobby’s tumor was removed, and he was cancer-free!

Bobby is now 4 years old and 3 ½ years cancer-free! He had scans/tests every 3-6 months and now, Bobby has check-ups every year to be sure the cancer does not come back. He is a very active boy who loves playing baseball, football, riding his bike, and playing with his older brother and younger sister. Bobby has a bright smile, gives lots of warm hugs, and is a true blessing to us.

This was certainly a life-changing experience for our family. Through it all we were touched by so many thoughtful and generous people. We feel so blessed that our prayers were answered, and we can only hope that other children are fortunate have the same outcome as Bobby did. We are grateful to Alex’s Lemonade Stand for all the research they have provided for childhood cancer. Thanks to the research, we are proud to say that Bobby is a cancer survivor. We thank ALSF for what they continue to do for other families, and we look forward to holding our own Alex’s Lemonade Stand every year!

Written by: Tricia Croyle

Aaron Doerger

Aaron Doerger (youngest pictured above w/ his brother Ethan and sister Abby)was diagnosed with stage IV neuroblastoma on May 18, 2006, at the age of 22 months.  He was treated pursuant to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia protocol for the disease, under the direction of  Dr. Stephan Grupp.  In order to keep him close to his family in Connecticut, however, most of his chemotherapy was completed at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital in Valhalla, New York under the supervision of  Dr. Claudio Sandavol.  Aaron's adrenal mass was surgically removed on August 28, 2006 at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center by Dr. Michael LaQuaglia. Aaron then completed tandem stem cell transplants at CHOP, in October and December of 2006, which included total body radiation.  His treatment was completed in March of 2007 with local radiation at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.  Aaron has been in remission from Neuroblastoma since September of 2006. He is currently participating in a t-cell study at CHOP.

Though Aaron's treatment was a very long road for Aaron and his family and friends to endure, many people were inspired by his courage and his faith. His family maintained a website where regular updates and current photos were posted. In return, people from all over the country sent well wishes and prayed for Aaron regularly. It was wonderful for his family to see the many lives that Aaron's story had changed for the better. He is still an inspiration to his family and they are all enjoying their time together and pray for a complete recovery for Aaron and all children with pediatric cancer.

Written by: Chelsea Doerger

Griffin Smith

In mid-Oct of 2005, Griffin had several weeks of low grade fever.  It came to a point where he complained of pain in his leg, especially his knee.  I gave him ibuprofen and called the doctor.  When she saw him on Monday, she watched how he walked with a limp.  On Wed, I only had Tylenol to give him and he absolutely refused to walk and cried because of the pain.  Friday, the doctor sent him for an x-ray.  We saw the doctor an Sat and she noted that his limp was worse and that there was nothing definitive on the x-ray, so she sent us to CHOP.  It took them about a week to diagnose him with Stage IV Neuroblastoma.  Griffin was 2 1/2 years old.  Since then Griffin has bravely gone through 5 cycles of chemotherapy, surgery to remove his tumor, 2 stem cell transplants and 6 days of radiation treatment.  He was a champ through it all.  The doctors and nurses were amazed at how well he took his oral meds, injections and his overall demeanor during his stays in the hospital.  In between his transplant months Griffin became a big brother and loves playing with his sister Riley.  As confirmed by his latest scan in May, he continues to be in remission.

Griffin is extremely intelligent (no bias here!) with huge brown eyes and a passion for animals and dinosaurs.  In fact, we just came back from our Make-a-Wish trip from the San Diego Zoo/Wildlife Park/Sea World.  He had a great time.  As of now, he wants to be a paleontologist.  Griffin loves playing with his cousins, taking trips to the zoo, reading books and creating things with play-doh.  This September, Griffin will be attending pre-school for the first time. 

This year Griffin was able to attend and be a Hero at the Alex's Lemonade Stand kick-off event.  He had lot's of fun and then went down to our own lemonade stand with his dad and Antie Elle and had a blast handing out the lemonade.

We applaud the Scott family and what they have created and will continue our support of Alex's Lemonade Stand.

Written by: Linda  and Ian

Daniel Cooper

Daniel was diagnosed with stage III, intermediate risk, neuroblastoma on April 6, 2005 at 14 months of age.  One day when he was 6 months old, his right eye suddenly became somewhat closed.  After receiving a diagnosis of Horner’s Syndrome, an MRI showed a “swollen lymph node” in his neck.  6 months later, another MRI showed that it had gotten significantly bigger, and a biopsy revealed that it was cancer.

To this day, Daniel has been a healthy, happy, adorable, loving little boy. He had no other symptoms.  We were fortunate to have been given a sign to catch this early.  Most cases go undetected until they reach a later stage.

Daniel has undergone numerous scans, needle sticks, biopsies and a surgery to place a port in his chest through which he received 4 rounds of chemotherapy at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.  This year we are marking Daniel’s 2 year off treatment, no evidence of disease, milestone.

Daniel will be starting 2 day preschool in the fall.  He loves movies, books, Scooby Doo, swinging, running, and playing with his older brother Jason (5 years old).  He has the best smile and the warmest hugs.  He is such a joy.  We are so blessed.

Written by: Barb Cooper