The McCrae family from Oregon has experienced a profound upheaval after both Britney, the mother, and her young son, Jamon, received cancer diagnoses on the same day.
Life seemed ordinary for the family, with their three children, until a few weeks ago when everything changed.
The situation began when Jamon, aged four, started having intense headaches that worsened over a few days, as described by his father, Jake McCrae.
Concerned for Jamon’s health, his parents took him to the hospital, where an MRI revealed the presence of a tumor.
Jamon underwent a grueling 15-hour surgery, significantly longer than initially anticipated, allowing doctors to excise most of the tumor.
Jake shared, “Initially, they were thinking it was a benign one.”
However, the pathology report on November 5 revealed that Jamon had a ‘an aggressive malignant type of brain tumor’, according to WCSC.
On that same day, Britney attended her own appointment and received a cancer diagnosis as well.
Britney was diagnosed with gestational trophoblastic neoplasia, a rare condition that can lead to tumor growth during pregnancy instead of a placenta, as defined by the Cleveland Clinic.
“The exact same day that we met with or established with oncology for my 4-year-old, she established oncology with her oncologist, like, the appointments were an hour apart,” Jake said.
Britney is currently undergoing chemotherapy, while Jamon recently had a second major surgery on Monday (November 17). He is scheduled to undergo six weeks of radiation followed by several months of chemotherapy.
Jake noted that while Jamon’s current prognosis is ‘not fantastic’, there is potential for improvement if surgeons can remove the remaining tumor.
“Currently, it’s like at about 50 percent, but, you know, if they can get all the tumor, it goes up to 70 percent,” Jake explained.
A GoFundMe page has been launched to support the family, aiming to alleviate financial stress related to medical bills, travel expenses, and lost work time, allowing the parents to focus on healing and caring for their family.
The latest update from the page indicates that Jamon is being ‘carefully monitored’ after his second surgery, experiencing some ‘post-operative complications’.
“The doctors believe these symptoms are most likely due to irritated nerves from surgery, which has been a point of hope for everyone as we wait for more information,” the page says.
Jamon is currently being fed via a tube, learning to walk again, and preparing for further treatment, while his parents also care for his two siblings.
Jake expressed that the most challenging aspect for him is feeling ‘helpless’, as if he ‘can’t do anything’ for Britney and Jamon.
You can contribute to the fundraiser here.