Teljn
Our son, Teljn, was diagnosed with high risk, stage 4 neuroblastoma cancer on January 1, 2020. The doctors told us the treatment for our 3 ½ -year-old son would last about 18 months and would include an array of tactics to destroy Teljn’s fast-growing cancer cells. As you can imagine, this news took our breath away. This was the kind of thing that happened to other people, and now it was us. It was our sweet, little Teljn.
His diagnosis would have been a death sentence just 10 years ago, but the last decade has brought so many advances in treatments, including the Hu3f8 antibody developed at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) and funded by Band of Parents, that now he has a fighting chance. The medical professionals give him a 50% 5-year cure rate. Our goal is to keep him 100% alive.
Teljn is a bright-eyed, intelligent boy. He has big, brown eyes that light up when he sings and dances. Teljn loves to play with his 5 brothers. He speaks well for his age and embraces opportunities to engage with and entertain other people. Teljn’s strong and happy spirit has been such an asset to help him endure his treatments. He quickly makes friends at the hospital with the nurses and Child Life staff.
As part of his care, we have enrolled Teljn in a clinical trial at MSKCC. Travel from Arizona (where we reside) to New York has been complicated due to the current Coronavirus pandemic. Band of Parents has not only made the clinical trial possible, but also provided safe, clean housing when options were lacking. Our first trip to New York lasted an unexpected 7 weeks, and Band of Parents made an otherwise very difficult circumstance, very doable.
We will be eternally grateful for Band of Parents’ support and dedication to finding a cure for neuroblastoma, and we hope that you will make a donation today so that other families in crisis for years to come can experience the same warmth and care.
With hope,
Dane and Holli Platt
