Meet Riley! This mighty CKSC teammate is three years old. Riley is battling Wilms tumor.
Riley went to the doctor after a lump was found on his abdomen. The doctor told his family that there was a high chance of cancer. Riley was rushed to a larger children’s hospital late that same night where he had a CT scan performed. The scan confirmed that he had Wilms tumor. Riley was officially diagnosed in March 2020.
Initially, Riley was given two different types of chemotherapy through a Hickman line to reduce the size of his tumor. On April 29, four weeks after diagnosis the tumor was successfully removed. Riley then received weekly chemotherapy until June 1st, followed by eight sessions of radiotherapy. Unfortunately, in August 2020, Riley relapsed and had to undergo more intense chemotherapy and radiotherapy. After four rounds of chemotherapy, consisting of five different medications/drugs, Riley's body responded well! He then underwent 10 more sessions of radiotherapy to the lungs, pelvis, and abdomen.
In addition to this, Riley had a stem cell transplant in hopes of helping to prevent further relapse. His stem cells were harvested during a process called Cryopreservation and a wedge of his tissue is being stored for future fertility. Riley still has remaining nodules on his lunges, however, they are too small to risk another biopsy for.