Meet Miles, he is 9 years old battling a type of bone cancer called Osteosarcoma. But Miles refuses to be defined by his Cancer.
Miles is a kind hearted, caring 3rd grade boy who loves his family, loves recess, tolerates math, loves Roblox and gaming, is loved by his teachers and friends and is cautiously curious about girls. Miles grows up on a little farm where he’s learning how to work hard and enjoy the simple things like farm fresh eggs, vegetables grown in the garden, walks with his dogs, proper pitch fork use and nursing/cuddling the baby goats and lambs. One day Miles will grow up to be a caring man who loves his neighbor and his brothers, has a green and conscientious foot, helps worms cross the road, stops to smell the flowers and will join the intellectual battle to understand and target the genetic factors involved in his cancer. This is a decade long fight for Miles and his family knows that his passion for life, for helping others and for defeating this cancer will carry over into his adult career.
We recently learned that Miles has a 5-45% chance at life, at becoming this man that he wants to be and we hope he’ll be. But he’s not giving up and neither are we. He will soon begin an immunotherapy drug that will improve his chances of survival by 10-15%. The Osteosarcoma Collaborative has been fighting for the FDA to approve this drug and make it standard of care for over a decade but the FDA doesn’t believe 10-15% is significant enough, even though it would saves 25-30 kids per year just like Miles.
The Northwest Sarcoma Foundation supports families like ours in helping reduce the stress and financial burden of this battle. Miles is happy and low stress right now because of amazing doctors, hospitals and support organizations like these, who support the families.
We’d also like to thank our insurance provider, Moda Health, for their support and recognition of the statistical significance of this life saving immunotherapy and in our little human.
Everyone has their mountain to climb in life – help these kids and doctors climb theirs.