Always the smiley 7-year-old, Landon loves getting into everything he’s curious about. He’s happiest when he’s outdoors camping or fishing. But growing up has been a whole different experience while battling cancer. 

Approaching June 2020, Landon began experiencing leg pain. His mom, Ashley, thought it was just growing pains, until one morning Landon woke up puking with stomach pain and rashes similar to chicken pox. Ashley took him to the family doctor who ran some tests. When Landon’s strep test came back negative, the doctor requested he be taken to the outpatient lab at Tiffin Hospital in Ohio for bloodwork. This trip was lifesaving. 

Only a few hours later, Ashley received the call that told her Landon’s white blood count was ten times higher than normal. She took him to the emergency room immediately, where the doctor told them, "Really, the only thing it could be is leukemia.” Landon was then taken by ambulance up to Toledo Children’s Hospital, and that night into morning Landon underwent a bone marrow biopsy. Landon was diagnosed with T Cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. 

The first nine months of treatment were rough on Landon. Within the first month, Landon was put on steroids that caused him to gain weight. He endured neuropathy pain and had a couple hospital stays due to fevers. A port had been inserted into his chest so he could receive his chemotherapy infusions. Thankfully, Landon entered the maintenance phase, and finished treatment a year early in November 2022! 

While Landon was in treatment, he missed most of his kindergarten class in person. Today, he is happy to be back in school and is doing well in first grade. He takes at-home chemotherapy pills and goes to Toledo for chemotherapy once a month and for lumbar punctures every three months. He also has physical therapy every two weeks. His family is also working on finding counseling to help with behavioral issues. 

Landon is Ashley’s hero because even through all of this, he still thrives and smiles. "He is my son and doesn’t deserve to go through this,” said Ashley. Her advice for families also experiencing childhood cancer is to keep your head up and take it one day at a time. 

While Landon’s family hopes for no relapses in the future, they are thankful for foundations like Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) who fund research into preventing and treating relapses. They believe ALSF will one day make cancer disappear. Landon’s siblings, Maci and Grayson, are also enrolled as SuperSibs with ALSF, receiving special support through this difficult time. 

Information provided by Ashley R., Landon’s mom  
Updated May 2022

Read more about Landon’s SuperSibs Grayson and Maci.