‘We can beat this’: El Paso boy hospitalized with 2nd bout of cancer in 3 months
EL PASO, Texas -- September is "Childhood Cancer Awareness Month." It serves as a reminder that cancer can affect anyone at any time -- even during a pandemic.
That's the harsh reality facing Arturo Leon, 12.
"One day he started having a pain that I thought was a toothache because he would point there," said his mother, Claudia Cazares, as she pointed to her cheek. "Then after 2 weeks he got diagnosed with cancer."
The diagnosis came on June 12.
Arturo underwent chemotherapy for two months.
Unfortunately, more bad news greeted him Aug. 27. Doctors found the cancer spread from his mouth to lymph nodes in his leg.
Arturo was hospitalized at El Paso Children's Hospital on Sept. 10.
"Since the hospital doesn't allow more than myself as a visitor and companion, my son and I are practically alone in a sense through this process," Cazares said in Spanish during an interview outside the hospital. "That isolation has affected him very deeply. … And it's so difficult to see him take the chemo … he just looks so unmotivated, so emotionally low and physically tired."
Cazares also admits her fears: Arturo's increased risk of illness due to his lowered immune system and about how to pay for his treatment.
"I'm scared that the cancer won't go away and that it will jump to another place," she said. "When the cancer started, the doctors told me that he had a 90 percent probability that he would get cured. But then with this new (cancer), I'm scared it will keep jumping and that he would not get better."
But she holds onto hope.
Cazares displayed a permanent reminder of their family's unity on her forearm: a tattoo she had inked less than a week ago.
The tattoo is a purple ribbon surrounded by the phrase, "Your battle is our battle."
"We haven't given up," she said. "We keep on fighting going forward, we see the light and the positives always. We push through and be hopeful because yes, we can beat this."
Candlelighters of El Paso helps families like Arturo's. The nonprofit provides financial assistance to families struggling to pay bills, buy groceries, or to travel for treatment.
Candlelighters is hosting virtual events beginning Sept. 20 as part of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
