Give Cayden the gift of possibility
Give Cayden the gift of possibility
Original published date: 8/29/2024
Leukemia has taken a lot from Cayden—but not his fighting spirit. You could be the match that saves his life.
When Cayden complained that his leg hurt, his parents thought at first that it was just a growth spurt. But when the pain got so bad the 3-year-old couldn't walk, his mom, Courtney, knew something was wrong.
After many blood tests, his family got the awful news. Cayden had a rare type of leukemia in children called Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). "I just remember collapsing in my husband's arms. My hands and feet went numb. My heart was pounding, and I sobbed," Courtney said.
That was April 2020. Cayden had daily chemotherapy for two years. But Cayden's battle didn't end when chemotherapy did. Now he needs the right person to join the NMDP RegistrySM so he can have a blood stem cell transplant that will give him a second chance.
"It's not good"
For nine months after his chemotherapy treatment ended, Cayden was doing well. Then in early 2023, his foot started hurting—again. His bloodwork wasn't definitive so at first his doctors thought the pain was a side effect from a steroid treatment he took during his initial battle with Ph+ ALL.
Then his arm started to hurt.
His oncologist did a bone marrow biopsy on Feb. 1. The next day, his parents got a call asking them to come in. Courtney had a sinking feeling in her gut. When she walked into the conference room, Cayden's nurse looked at her with concern in her eyes and simply said, "It's not good."
I took a deep breath and she said again, 'It's not good. Cayden relapsed,'" Courtney shared. "I was completely numb and in shock. I didn't move. I didn't say a word. I didn't cry. I just sat there in utter shock, feeling like I was in a nightmare that I couldn't wake up from.
Courtney
Cayden's mom
New treatments plus transplant give Cayden the best chance for a cure
Ph+ ALL has a high risk of relapse, so his doctors suggested a different treatment approach. It started with chemotherapy followed by a new type of immunotherapy drug. Immunotherapy works by training a person's immune system to find and attack cancer cells.
Then Cayden had an FDA-approved treatment called chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy that used Cayden's own genetically modified cells to find and kill the cancer cells.
Cayden has been doing great since he had immunotherapy and CAR-T therapy. But the 8-year-old also needs a blood stem cell transplant using blood stem cells from a donor to have the best chance for a cure. Finding an available donor hasn't been easy.
The good you'll do joining the registry goes a long way towards helping patients
When a patient like Cayden needs a blood stem cell transplant using a donor, doctors use markers called human leukocyte antigens (HLA) to match the patient with a suitable donor. These markers are found on most cells in the body.
Doctors look for a donor with HLA markers that closely match the patient's HLA. That search can be difficult because patients are most likely to match a donor of their own ethnic background.
Cayden's family felt hopeful when his doctors found two potential donors on the NMDP Registry. But neither was available to donate.
Black and African American patients, like Cayden, need more representation on the registry. Today only 8% of potential donors on the NMDP Registry identify as Black or African American versus 55% who identify as White. Improving the ethnic diversity of the registry improves all patients’ odds of finding a life-saving match, regardless of ethnic background.
You can give Cayden and patients like him the gift of possibility by joining the NMDP Registry. You could be the one that saves Cayden's life. It only takes a simple swab to get started.