WATCH: Susan Hay has the story on a brave three-year-old who is battling a rare blood cancer.
TORONTO- Gabriel Benun is a brave young boy; he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer when he was almost seven months old.
“He was diagnosed with infantile acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which is essentially a very rare type of baby blood cancer,” said Asaph Benun, Gabriel’s Dad.
Gabriel went through several long chemotherapy cycles since he was diagnosed in April, 2012. The first four cycles included intensive treatments where he stayed in hospital the entire time.
He was discharged from hospital after six months to continue treatments as an outpatient.
But his cancer returned.
“Unfortunately 99 days before his end of treatment he relapsed. And which took him back into the hospital to endure many more cycles of chemotherapy, radiation and eventually a bone marrow transplant,” Benun said.
Fortunately for Gabriel, his brother Jonah was a perfect match and gave him the bone marrow that was needed to save his life.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada is a voluntary non-profit health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing patient education and patient support. Fred Hoe, the patient education and support manager of Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada has been in contact with the family.
“We are talking to them about what type of support they would like to consider going forward. As with any family when you just come home, they are getting back to their normal routine,” Hoe said.
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