Children’s Cancer Institute shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Huxley was doted on by his mum, Alisha, and dad, Brendan.
‘He was always laughing,’ Alisha shares.
They had noticed a few things that were slightly ‘off’ with him, but when Huxley didn’t seem to improve after a bout of COVID at Christmas 2023, Alisha took him to hospital where an x-ray revealed he had fluid on his lungs.
The next morning, Huxley was taken for surgery to put a chest drain in. During the surgery, two doctors came over. ‘They said Huxley’s okay, but we found a mass in his lung and we want to get a biopsy.’
Only an hour later, Alisha says, ‘We walked into a room and there were about 11 doctors in a circle. They said, ‘We found a mass and unfortunately, Huxley has cancer.’
I think the first thing I said was: ‘Is he going to die?’ It was two weeks before Huxley’s first birthday.
Huxley had a malignant rhabdoid tumour, a very aggressive and difficult to cure cancer.
‘The oncologist told us they hadn’t had anyone make it past the age of five,’ says Alisha.
Testing through the Zero Childhood Cancer Program (ZERO) found that Huxley’s cancer had been caused by a specific genetic mutation. This meant his treatment could become more targeted.
After a few rounds of chemo, a scan revealed his lung tumour had shrunk to about half its original size. However, another tumour was found growing under his collarbone. He needed to start radiation therapy.
Huxley went on to finish treatment, but tragically, when he had surgery to have his central line removed, the surgeon found new tumour growth. Alisha and Brendan were told that there was nothing else that could be done for him.
Huxley began palliative care and just one short month later, he passed away holding his mum’s hand.
‘He woke up, smiled, squeezed my hand and took his last breath. It was like he reassured us he was ok’ remembers Alisha. ‘We know in our hearts that we did everything we could for him, and that all he knew was love.’
They that by sharing Huxley story, it can help other families that go through a loss, as well as help raise awareness and more funds for childhood cancer treatments.
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