Cole was diagnosed with Stage III neuroblastoma at about 4 months of age. He had a little cold, which seemed to hinder his breathing and to make a very long story short, my husband and I insisted on a chest x-ray.  We were told that there was a large mass in his chest, which may or may not be cancerous. We were also told that at his age, cancer may be preferable because if the mass had to be removed without shrinking the surgery would be extremely complicated. If Cole survived that surgery it was possible that he wouldn’t be able to walk. How do you hope that your infant has cancer? We were not prepared to hear that Cole had a tumor; we were horrified when we were told that he had cancer.
 
The tumor was large and took up the whole left side of his chest, forcing his organs to the right side of his body. Cole immediately began chemotherapy on April 2, 2009 and had his last treatment at the end of August 2009. He handled the treatments extremely well and has gotten us through the whole ordeal, when it should have been us getting him through it. He is an extremely happy baby. He touches the hearts of everyone who meets him.  He is always the life of every party, he lights up every room he enters. Everyone loves him. He has taught us lessons we never thought we would have to learn. You cannot help but fall in love with him. He wakes up and goes to sleep every night with a big smile on his face. He exudes happiness and just being around him makes people happy. He is loved by so many.
 
Cole receives periodic CAT scans to monitor his progress and has been doing very well. His most recent CAT scan was in December 2009; the tumor had shrunk a great deal and has begun to calcify. Cole is developing very well and his organs have moved to their correct positions, which is wonderful news. He will have his next CAT scan when he is one year out of treatment, which will be at the end of August. Please take a moment to keep him in your thoughts.
 
On Saturday, August 7th, we are attending an event at Hospitality Creek Campground, in which there will be a cook-off in Cole’s honor.  Bracelets will be sold to those who wish to take part in enjoying all the delicious food, with all proceeds from the event benefitting Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. We are hoping this will be a huge success and are proud to help Alex fulfill her dream of curing childhood cancer. We will always remember what she started.
 
Visit this web address to learn more about “Cooking for Cole” - http://www.alexslemonade.org/mypage/66604

** Update:  Cole had an oncology appointment on July 17th 2010 in which Dr. Halligan decided to do a chest x-ray rather than the CAT scan in order to limit the amount of radiation. The tumor was NOT visible in the x-ray, which indicates that it has become too small to detect, which further indicates that it has completely matured. While it will be five years before he is completely cleared, it now appears that the tumor is no longer malignant! Our prayers have been answered! Cole truly is a childhood cancer HERO!!!!!
 
Written by Jaclyn and Thomas Pinto, Cole's Parents
06/10