Miracles for Mason

Sorry for the late post, but Sunday was Mason's 8th birthday!! We spend the day at kennywood with friends and family. All day Mason kept saying how it was the best birthday he has ever had!!

“In 2013 we were at Eat’n Park for dinner. Mason wouldn’t eat and was turning blue. We thought he was choking as he was eating.

The same thing happened the next morning, so his parents took him to CCP Monroeville where they immediately sent us to Children’s

We found out Mason had cancer. He had a tumor on his lung and heart, so he had to have part of his lung removed and open heart surgery. Mason was diagnosed with a very rare tumor called Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor.

We went home after the surgery on December 24, and then came back to get his port to start chemotherapy.

In August 2014, the cancer came back. Children’s was looking at other treatments. They decided on a two year clinical trial, where he got a pill in liquidized form through a nasojejunal (NJ) tube. The tube was in for 5-6 months.

Mason learned how to start taking pills and was able to go to school without the NJ tube.

Thanks to Children's and Dr. Tersak, Mason has been cancer free since February of 2017. It is a miracle he is with us.

He is back to living life like any other kid. He likes to play on his iPad, play soccer, go to camp, bowl, and gymnastics. He still does get tired when he exerts himself, but other than that he feels great.

Every day he wakes up with a smile, and it makes us smile. It’s a blessing this hospital is here in Pittsburgh.”

Tony, Mason’s grandfather
Monroeville, PA