After two weeks of complaining of a pain in his tummy and having a significant decrease in appetite, Bronson's pediatrician ran blood tests and performed an x-ray of his abdomen. Nothing showed up so he was sure that this was just a strong little boy who was fighting off the stomach bug that had plagued the metroplex for weeks. Within two more weeks, Bronson had lost 10 pounds and we had enough. On March 30, 2006, the love of my life was diagnosed with high risk stage 4 neuroblastoma, poor shimada with 1p deletion. The adrenal tumor was larger than a cantaloupe and wrapped around his aorta and kidney blood supply.  Bronson has completed 6 rounds of high dose chemotherapy and had surgery to re-sect his tumor. Thankfully he only lost his adrenal gland and was able to keep both kidneys. The tumor was completely dead.  Bronson then had 20 rounds of radiation and 40 days of 3F8 antibody treatment at Sloan Kettering in New York City. Although he has responded well to treatment, his fight is nowhere near completion.   We travel from Dallas to New York every three months to make sure the beast has not returned.  There are so many wonderful children fighting this beast through no fault of their own.  Bronson is a true sunshine even with all he has suffered, he will be the first to stand up for the underdog and never ever complains about his cancer battle.  He is just the best son, brother, friend and gift any mother could hope for in this world.   He loves all things Star Wars, military or history related.   To meet Bronson and experience all his unique gifts is a blessing!
 
Written by Leann Balzac, Bronson’s Mother
09/09